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Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions Walkthrough

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/ / T A C T I C S
T h e W a r o f t h e L i o n s
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
% FINAL FANTASY TACTICS: THE WAR OF THE LIONS FAQ %
% Version 1.16 %
% by Fritz Fraundorf %
% qumarsh@gmail.com %
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
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-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
%%%%TABLE OF CONTENTS%%%%
To jump to any section of this FAQ, press Ctrl+F to Find and type in the code
(beginning with 00) next to the section title.
I. Revision History 00rev
II. Frequently Asked Questions 00faq
III. Walkthrough - Main Quest
Chapter I: The Meager 00walk1
Chapter II: The Manipulative & The Subservient 00walk2
Chapter III: The Valiant 00walk3
Chapter IV: In the Name of Love 00walk4
IV. Walkthrough - Subquests 00sub
Agrias's Birthday 00agr
Gollund Colliery 00col
Recruiting Balthier 00balt
Nelveska Temple 00nel
Recruiting Cloud 00cloud
Disorder in the Order 00dis
Lionel's New Liege Lord 00lio
Midlight's Deep 00md
V. Battle Strategies
Chapter I: The Meager 00bs1
Chapter II: The Manipulative & The Subservient 00bs2
Chapter III: The Valiant 00bs3
Chapter IV: In the Name of Love 00bs4
Subquests 00bssub
Midlight's Deep 00bsmd
VI. Jobs
General Information about Jobs 00job0
Standard Jobs 00job1
Special Jobs 00job2
Monsters 00mon
VII. Ability Strategies
Ability Combos 00abil
Character Strategies 00char
Party Strategies 00par
VIII. Equipment and Items 00equip
Weapons 00weap
Shields 00sh
Headgear 00head
Armor 00armor
Accessories 00acc
Items 00item
IX. Errands 00err
X. Reference
Poached Items 00poach
Shop Chart 00shop
Rare & Missable Item Locations 00rare
Ivalician Calendar 00calendar
Zodiac Compatibility 00zodiac
Status Changes 00status
Geomancy Chart 00geo
Prime Numbers 00prime
Random Battles 00rb
Various Tricks 00tricks
Zodiac Stone Locations 00stones
FMV Movie List 00fmv
FF References 00ffr
XI. PSone -> PSP Changes
Game Changes 00psone
Name Conversion Chart 00names
XII. Credits / Disclaimer 00cred
*******************************************************************************
I. REVISION HISTORY 00REV
*******************************************************************************
---Version 1.16 (12/21/07)---
- Added another column to the ability lists that indicates whether Action
Abilities require an unbroken line of fire between the user and target (e.g.
Throw Items) or if it can "go through" other units and walls (e.g., magicks
and sword techniques).
- I upgraded the Poached Items list with indicators of which poached items are
not available in stores and/or can only be found by poaching, to help with
your treasure hunting activities :) . Thanks to xboxpro1 for asking about
this and inspiring me to add it to the FAQ.
- Clarified how the Reflexes ability works and added an additional ability
combo involving it. Thanks to reader Luze for this info.
- Added another ability combo from Tony Lawrence: Balthier's Barrage paired
with Poach (or Tame), as well one of my own: Darkness + Mana Shield.
- Speaking of Mana Shield, I added an additional paragraph to the Time Mage
job description pointing out the virtues of this ability, since it comes in
handy for quite a few things :)
- A couple readers pointed me to a bug where enemy characters (or Confused
allies) can use sword techniques even without a sword equipped, if you
steal/break their sword while they're in some sort of negative status effect.
I've added this to the Various Tricks section, although it's more something
to watch out for than a trick you can use ;). Thanks to Chris Ng and Doug
Prevo both for discovering this, and Chris for doing quite a bit of research
on it.
- Clarified the FAQ about stealing the Genji equipment, since the old version
kinda made it sound like you couldn't steal from ANY bosses. Thanks to Not
Dice for bringing this to my attention.
- Cleaned up a few other typos.
---Version 1.15 (12/20/07)---
- All right, so I vanished for almost a month. Not cool, I know, but I had to
step away from the FAQ for a while for personal reasons. My apologies.
Since it seems like people are still reading and using the FAQ, though, I'm
going to come back now and try to finish things up (and get caught up on
FAQ-related e-mail!)
- Redid the Equipment and Items section. I added the vertical range of each
weapon type, listed when each item becomes available in stores, and added the
special jobs and equipment abilities to the "Usable by:" list for each
weapon, as well as making a few miscellaneous clarifications & corrections
in the list (e.g. Orlandeau can also use Ninja Blades).
- I broke down and bought the official BradyGames guide, which has allowed me
to add all the stats for the multiplayer-only items to the equipment charts.
Thanks also to gunblade15 for some of these stats. I haven't verified *all*
of these in-game yet, though, so if there are errors in the published guide,
this list will be off as well.
- As reader Ty'ere Mosley reminded me, there's actually only a random (but
high!) chance that you'll learn Zodiark each time you're hit with it, so I've
updated this throughout the FAQ for clarification.
- Made some other walkthrough and battle strategy revisions:
> Advised that it's not necessary to recruit a lot of extra characters at
the start of the game.
> At the start of the Chapter II walkthrough, I pointed out the changes in
Ramza's Squire job and the usefulness of Steel.
> Recommended the Lightning Bow as a good buy at Lionel Castle.
> Added more description of the Poachers' Den at the start of the Chapter
III walkthrough.
> Added some description of Rapha and Marach's skills to the walkthrough
when they join up.
> At the start of the Chapter IV walkthrough, mentioned that Ramza's Squire
job can now equip knight's swords (not that you're likely to get any
before then).
- Clarified the nature of Reis's Dual Wield in her job description since it was
a little unclear in the previous version.
- Revised the equipment list for Ramza's, Delita's, and Argath's special Squire
jobs to mention that Ramza doesn't gain the ability to equip heavy armor
until Chapter II and knight swords until Chapter IV, and that Delita and
Argath can equip knives (which I'd somehow omitted).
- Updated a few more names -- credit to Leonardo Vaz for the new name of the
Malboro Virus attack (Malboro Spores) and Great Malboros becoming the
slightly less impressive Greater Malboros, and to the BradyGames guide for
the new name of the Madelgelm book (now Omnilex).
- Added some items to the Shop Chart that were missing from previous versions.
---Version 1.12 (11/26/07)---
- Made a few walkthrough and battle strategy revisions & additions:
> Added info. on how your choice as to whether or not you help Argath and
Mustadio in Chapters I and II, respectively, affects your Bravery.
Thanks to azymyth for reminding me to add these in and for some of the
information.
> In Chapter I, I suggested matching the Black Magick you learn with the
elemental rod you buy as a good way of increasing magick damage early on.
> Further down the road, I also pointed out that Poison Rod in Chapter II
isn't really such a good buy as it doesn't boost any type of magick.
> Recommended having Ovelia learn as many abilities as she can when she's
with Ramza in Chapter II since she can use them later.
> When guns become available, I've made a note of recommending the very
nice Arts of War / gun combo.
> Using instant KO or petrification attacks is another way to circumvent
Choco Cure in the Finnath Creek battle - thanks to UnshakableWill for
this tactic!
> There was still an old part of the Nelveska Temple walkthrough where I'd
forgotten to go back and clarify what equipment Reis can use -- thanks to
reader Reninzo for catching this; I've fixed it now :)
- Added another way of getting Scorpion Tails to the Rare Item Locations list
-- they can also be caught with Sticky Fingers. Thanks to Leonardo Vaz for
the catch (pun acknowledged but not intended ;) ).
- I had the X and Y coordinates reversed for the Excalibur in Midlight's Deep,
but they're fixed now - thanks to Edgar Hernandez and Harvey Ng Lee for
catching this.
- By request, I expanded the Level Ups & Stat Grinding trick (under Various
Tricks) by actually adding the location of a Degenerator trap ;) (there's a
convenient one on The Stair in Midlight's Deep)
- Expanded Rapha and Marach's job descriptions to include more information
about how their Mantra abilities relate to Faith.
- I added the special names for all the Iaido attacks (e.g. Kotetsu casts
"Binding Darkness") to the Samurai's ability list. The ones for the Summons
will follow in a future update.
- Added the sound effect differences to the PSone->PSP changes list; thanks to
Jonathan Tabish for highlighting some of the changed sounds.
- Added some more names to the Name Conversion Chart that I'd already updated
in the FAQ body but hadn't put in the chart yet.
- Corrected a few other typos.
---Version 1.10 (11/23/07)---
- Hooray, the long-awaited revision to the Jobs/Abilities section is finally
done! This's the way! And, boy, was it needed. Here's what I've changed:
- First, I've added some general explanations to the start of the Jobs section
about how jobs, their stats, and abilities work. I also included a chart of
how much JP you need to advance to each job level.
- I've added comparisons of each job's statistics (on a 1-5 star scale)
and Move/Jump numbers.
- The descriptions of many abilities are more detailed / accurate.
- I've added additional stats for abilities. Action Abilities now list the
vertical range of the ability and of its effect radius, as well as it whether
it affects just allies, just enemies, or both. Reaction Abilities now list
the specific trigger for the reaction and whether or not Bravery affects how
likely the ability is to trigger.
- The charge time for some spells has been increased in the PSP version (mostly
summons, plus a few Time Mage spells and the Oracle's Induration), so I've
finally updated these stats. I also added this to the PSone->PSP Changes
List.
- I rewrote all the job descriptions, and changed some of the abilities I
recommend. A lot of people had great suggestions for this: thanks to Carlos
Alexandre, James Derr, Pat Polk, Freaky Liar, winddraco, and Warren for their
input on this section.
- I also added some additional ability combos and character strategies to the
Ability Strategies section, as well as one nice new party strategy from Pat
Polk.
- Onion Knights don't power-up until you hit job level 8 (not at any
intermediate stages), so I've updated this in the FAQ and in the job
description. Thanks to frequent contributor winddraco for the clarification.
- I still need to redo the Monsters section ... that'll be done in a future
version :)
- By request, I've elaborated on the locations of Sasuke's Blade and the
Nagnarok in the Nelveksa Temple battle strategy.
- Added a couple clarifications to the Midlight's Deep walkthrough: leaving the
map and re-entering does not give you a second chance to get an item, and the
Deep is still a red dot on the map even if you've finished the whole dungeon.
Thanks to ace luna for suggesting I clarify the latter.
- Corrected an error in the Rare Item Locations list -- you can't steal a Blood
Sword until well into Chapter II. Thanks to Doug for the catch.
- When I was copying and pasting some text to fix the formatting in the weapons
section, I forgot to change the range for bows and crossbows and had them
listed with a range of 1 -- whoops! ;) Thanks to Agostino Gruppi for
catching this one.
- Updated the name of the top minotaur monster - thanks to Pat Polk for this
information.
- Cleaned up a few other typos and formatting errors.
---Version 1.00 (11/18/07)---
- Revised the Midlight's Deep walkthrough and battle strategies, for all 10
floors! (Thanks to reader Warren for an additional strategy against
Elidibus.)
- I also made a few revisions to the general strategies for the Deep, including
the invisibility tactic, info. about the traps on items, poaching strategies,
and a caution about Treasure Hunting enemies.
- Fixed up a few Midlight's Deep item locations, and added the HEIGHT of each
item's tile as an additional cue to help identify it.
!!!CAUTION: If you've been using a previous version of the guide, please note
that I've now SWITCHED the X and Y coordinates for all the item locations.
The first number is now left/right on the D-pad and the second number is now
up/down. This is because it was a little weird to have the dimension
controlled by the up/down buttons be the "X" dimension (as it was in previous
versions). If you're in the middle of the dungeon, please note the change :)
- I realized that the information on where to find a lot of the game's rare
items was basically scattered throughout this FAQ and there wasn't any
organized place to look for it. So, I've add a Rare & Missable Item
Locations list to the Reference section; this tells you where to find all the
items that you can't get in stores.
- Added a list of all the FMV movies in the PSP version.
- Fixed a typo in the stats for the Nagnarok; thanks to frequent contributor
gunblade15 for catching this.
- I had the common & rare poaches backwards for the Tiamat; I fixed this.
- Corrected the effect of the Rubber Suit (nee Rubber Costume); it only
makes you immune to lightning and does not absorb it.
- Added "Is there a New Game+ mode?" and "How do I make Onion Knights
stronger?" to the FAQ, since I'd gotten questions about both. I also cleaned
up the answers to a few other questions.
- Updated more names; thanks to Aaron N. Price for the new name of one of the
errands and Pat Polk for the Stone Gun becoming the Stoneshooter.
- Cleaned up a few other things throughout the FAQ.
- With so many updates, the Revision History section was getting way too
long, so I'm now only listing the 5 most recent updates. Hope no one misses
the longer list, but I thought it was getting to be a pain to scroll through
so many bullet points.
- Since I've finished revising the walkthrough and battle strategies, I'm
calling this version 1.0. But, obviously, there's still a LOT of work let to
be done to turn this into a halfway decent guide. Redoing the Jobs and
Abilities section will be up next.
- Still catching up on e-mail :(
(Older updates not listed.)
*******************************************************************************
II. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 00FAQ
*******************************************************************************
Q. Is Cloud still in this version of the game, like he was in the PSone
release?
A. Yes. In fact, you can actually recruit him earlier than you could before.
Q. How do I get Cloud to join my party? And where do I find his sword?
A. See the "Walkthrough - Subquests" section of the FAQ. You need to complete
the Gollund Colliery, Nelveska Temple, and Recruiting Cloud quests in
sequence.
Q. I didn't buy the flower when I had the chance. Can I still get Cloud?
A. Unfortunately, it seems that you have only one chance to buy the flower. If
you declined to buy it, you are not able to get Cloud, or complete the other
sidequests that depend on the flower. Sorry :(
Q. What's new in the PSP version of the game?
A. Check out the PSP Version Changes section - just hit Ctrl+F and type
in 00psone to jump to that section of the FAQ.
Q. How do I beat Wiegraf?
A. Equip the Auto-Potion ability and a gun on Ramza. Run from Wiegraf and
keep using the Tailwind ability to boost your speed. Repeat until you are
getting seven or eight turns in a row, then start shooting at Wiegraf.
Against Belias, stand still and shoot at him until he dies.
Q. Where is Midlight's Deep?
A. After you beat Mullonde Holy Place, go to the Port City of Warjilis. You
will see a scene at the bar, then the way to Midlight's Deep will appear.
Q. How do I beat / find items in Midlight's Deep?
A. See the cleverly-titled Midlight's Deep section of the walkthrough ;) .
Just hit Ctrl+F and type in 00md to jump to that section of the FAQ.
Q. OK, I think I understand the idea of finding the items, but how do I rotate
the camera to get the correct perspective?
A. Use the analog stick (in the lower left of the PSP). Every time you tap it
left or right, the perspective changes.
Q. How do I ride a Chocobo?
A. Move the character onto the same square as the Chocobo.
Q. How do I use the Samurai's ability Iaido?
A. First learn the ability you want to use. Then buy several of the
corresponding Samurai sword. During battle, you can use the ability if you
have the appropriate type of sword in your inventory (NOT equipped). Note
that this may break the sword, so I'd buy several copies.
Q. How do I learn Ultima?
A. Only Ramza and Luso can learn Ultima. Ramza or Luso must be in their base
job; then, if someone casts the spell on him, he will learn it. (As long as
just one of the two characters learns it, you can have him cast it on the
other to learn it later.) The best time to learn the spell is from the
assassins outside Limberry Castle in Chapter IV, but you can also have Luso
learn it on the Riovanes Castle Roof in Chapter III or from another player
in the multiplayer mode. (There's also a guest character who can learn
Ultima during the final battle if Ramza or Luso casts it on her.)
Q. How do I get the lipstick accessory?
A. First, you need to keep Agrias, Alicia, Lavian, and Mustadio on your roster
until Chapter IV. Once Chapter IV begins, travel back and forth between
Gollund and Lesalia until the calendar says 1 Cancer. If you have at least
500,000 gil and are standing on a town (NOT a castle) when the calendar
turns 1 Cancer, you should get the scene where you acquire the Tynar Rouge
accessory.
Q. Help! I beat the last boss and the game said it was saving afterwards, but
when I load up my last save, I'm just at the last boss fight again. Can I
go anywhere else?
A. Unfortunately, no :(. The game clear save is just to unlock some of the
multiplayer missions. If you want to continue roving the world map, you
need to keep a separate save from before you began the final sequence of
battles.
Q. How do I beat the Lionel Castle Gate?
A. Give Ramza the Chakra ability and have him use it every turn. Don't open
the gate until the fight outside is finished. For more tips, see the Battle
Strategies for Chapter II. Press Ctrl+F and type in 00bs2 to jump there.
Q. How do I learn Zodiark?
A. You can only learn Zodiark from Elidibus, the boss of Midlight's Deep, by
having him cast it on one of your Summoners. Equip the Mana Shield ability
to survive it. (You only have a random chance to learn the spell when
you're hit with it, so you might not learn it the first time you're hit with
it, but the odds are definitely in your favor!)
Q. How do I recruit monsters?
A. You need an Orator. Then just use their Entice or Tame abilities on the
monsters.
Q. How do I poach enemies?
A. Equip the Thief ability Poach and kill a monster with a regular attack.
Then go to a Poachers' Den in a trade city and you can purchase what
you've poached. Note that Poachers' Dens are NOT available in all cities;
only Dorter, Warjilis, and Sal Ghidos have them, and they don't appear until
the start of Chapter III.
Q. How do I get the Genji equipment? Can I steal it from the boss who has it?
A. Unfortunately, you can never steal from that boss in the PSP version, so he
gets to keep his Genji gear to himself. Alas! However, you CAN get the
Genji Armor and Masamune from the new "Lionel's New Liege Lord" subquest.
Press Ctrl+F and enter 00lio to jump to the guide for that quest.
Q. Aren't there some new jobs added to the PSP version that weren't in the
PSone version? How do I unlock them?
A. The PSP version of FF Tactics has two new jobs. To make a character into an
Onion Knight, simply get their Squire and Chemist jobs up to level 6. To
make a character into a Dark Knight, you first Master (learn all the
abilities for) Knight and Black Mage, have Dragoon, Geomancer, Samurai,
and Ninja at level 8, AND kill 20 enemies (not just KO--they must turn to
chests or crystals) with the character. Yikes! :)
Q. What are the new subquests in the PSP version? How do I access them?
A. There are three new subquests in Chapter IV, one revolving around Beowulf
and the others revolving around Agrias. Beowulf's subquest is available
after returning Reis to human form at Nelveska Temple and after completing
Mullonde Cathedral in the main storyline. (Press Ctrl+F and enter 00lio to
jump to the section with all the details on the Lionel's New Liege Lord
quest.)
Agrias has a couple of different subquests. First, if you still have Alicia
and Lavian, the Tynar Rouge event can be accessed on 1 Cancer. Second,
after Mullonde, travel to Zeltennia to open up another battle accessed via
the Tavern at Gariland. For details on these events, press Ctrl+F and
enter 00agr to jump to Agrias's Birthday or 00dis for Disorder in the
Order, respectively.
Q. How do I recruit Luso and Balthier?
A. Luso is recruited automatically in Chapter III, as you head through the
Zeklaus Desert on the way to Riovanes.
Balthier isn't available until you've completed the battle at Zeltennia
Castle in Chapter IV. Any time after that, read the "Rash of Thefts" rumor
at the Gariland tavern, then go to the Dorter tavern and read the "Call for
Guards" rumor. Win the battle that ensues when you try to leave town and
Balthier joins.
Q. What's the deal with Onion Knights? They seem horrible. Is there any way
to make them stronger?
A. Actually, yes. The Onion Knight's job level goes up as you master other
jobs, and if you can get the Onion Knight up to job level 8, they'll become
more powerful. Also, if you play the game's multiplayer missions, you can
earn some powerful "Onion" equipment that only Onion Knights can equip.
Q. One of my characters is threatening to leave the team. What do I do?
A. This is happening because your character has either a very low Bravery or
a very high Faith. Use Orator skills to increase his/her Bravery or lower
his/her Faith a little.
Q. Is there any kind of New Game+ mode, so that I can start from the beginning
but keep all my levels and items?
A. Unfortunately, no. FF Tactics dates back to a time before this feature
started becoming common in RPGs. Whenever you start a new game, you always
have to start from scratch.
Q. Where do I get all the Zodiac Stones?
A. Look in the Zodiac Stones list near the end of the file. Be warned that
this list contains some spoilers.
Q. Can you get Aerith to join?
A. Sorry, but no -- Aerith does make a cameo appearance (of sorts) in the game,
but you cannot get her in your party.
Q. Is it possible to find Mog in the Siedge Weald?
A. Nope. The game does make references to moogles, but there's no way to
actually recruit him as a party member.
Q. Why don't any of the characters have noses?
A. Your guess is as good as mine. Some genetic defect or something, I suppose.
*******************************************************************************
III. WALKTHROUGH - MAIN QUEST
*******************************************************************************
You'll begin by entering your name and birthdate. If you want Ramza (the
protagonist) to end up with a certain Zodiac sign, see the Ivalician Calendar
section to match up the sign you want with what birthdate you should enter.
The game start at Orbonne Monastery. A band of enemy knights shows up, and
you have to fight. This battle is pretty much automatic, as everyone except
Ramza is controlled by the computer. Gaffgarion and Agrias will take care of
most of the enemies without any trouble, so you can have Ramza just do pretty
much whatever you want. It's possible that one or more of your weaker
teammates--Alicia, Lavian, and Ladd--will get KOed. Don't worry; none of them
can die permanently in this battle. After Gaffgarion and Agrias finish wiping
out the enemies, there will be some story scenes, and Ramza will enter into an
extended flashback.
%%%CHAPTER I: THE MEAGER%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00walk1
All of Chapter I is a flashback to Ramza's days as a knight-in-training with
the Order of the Northern Sky. You (Ramza) and Delita will be at the academy
in Gariland, where you receive the assignment to defeat some thieves entering
the town. You are automatically joined by four squires and two chemists, then
the first battle begins. See "Battle Strategies" for tips on the battles.
After you win the battle, you will go to the map screen. You can click on
Gariland to visit its shops. If you lost any characters in the fight, go to
the Warriors' Guild and recruit some new ones to replace them (or just reset
the game). This is probably the only time you'll want to use the Guild. If
you lose any of your main team members later in the game, you're probably
better off resetting. It's tough to replace characters who have already been
built up with a lot of levels and abilities! If everyone survived the initial
battle, you shouldn't need to recruit any additional characters at the Guild --
you already have more than you can use in one team, and you'll be joined by
more characters automatically as the game progresses.
Stop by the Outfitter's in Gariland to buy some Potions. If one or both of
your Chemists has enough JP to learn the Phoenix Down ability, learn that
ability and then buy a few (1-2) Phoenix Downs at the store. Phoenix Downs are
great to have as they allow you to revive a KOed character.
Save the game by pressing Triangle and choosing Data, then head west to
Mandalia Plain. As soon as you leave the city, you'll have a flashback (yes, a
flashback within a flashback) to the death of Ramza's father Barbaneth. After
that sequence has ended, you'll be back in Gariland. Click on Mandalia Plain
once again and this time you'll actually get there.
At Mandalia Plain, you'll meet Argath, under attack by the Corpse Brigade. You
can choose whether or not to help him (bottom option) or just go after the
Corpse Brigade (to option). This has no long-term impact on the storyline;
it only affects the victory conditions for the upcoming battle:
- If you choose not to help Argath (top choice), your goal is just to defeat
all the enemies. It doesn't matter if Argath is KOed during the battle
or not. Choosing this option also adds 10 points to the Bravery score of
every character in your current squad, including Delita. 2 points of this
change will remain even after the battle.
- Choosing to help Argath (bottom choice) adds an additional requirement to
the battle: you'll have to keep Argath from getting KOed during the battle.
This option has no effect on your team's Bravery.
The first option both makes the battle easier AND gives you a boost in Bravery.
High Bravery is pretty useful since it increases both your attack strength
and your chance of using Reaction Abilities. There's no benefit at all from
choosing the second option, so choose the first!
When the fight concludes, Argath will join as a guest regardless of which
option you choose before the battle. Back on the map, go on up to Eagrose
Castle. You'll have a brief chat with Dycedarg, then Zalbaag will send you to
rendezvous with his spy at Dorter.
At this point, you might want to consider changing some of your characters to
new jobs. Chemists are really more useful than either White Mages or Black
Mages, so keep your Chemists as-is. But you might want to change some of your
Squires to Knights, since Knights have more HP and damage potential than
Squires. (Archers are also available at this time. They're good in
general, but I'd skip them for the next few battles as melee combat is best
for them.) I made Ramza into a Knight at this point. It's probably a good
idea to keep at least one Squire, though. Why is that? As long as you have at
least one Squire active in battle, everyone will earn some JP towards that job,
and that will help you buy useful Squire abilities like Counter Tackle, Move
+1, and JP Boost. Move +1 and JP Boost are particulary useful -- JP Boost
increases the amount of JP you earn, and will help you learn all the other
abilities faster--it's a good investment! At any rate, if you do change
jobs, be sure to buy (and equip) new gear for those characters.
Before you leave Eagrose, stop by the Outfitter. There's new equipment for
sale here. Stock up on Potions, then arm your characters with the new gear.
Make sure all your Squires and Knights have Longswords, the best weapon
available to them right now. In particular, if you changed any of your
characters' jobs, be sure they have equipment that goes with the new jobs. You
can safely skip the Mythril Dagger, though--it'll just increase a Chemist's
attack power by 1 point, and they don't much fighting, anyway. The shop also
sells Battle Boots, which increase your movement range by 1 tile. As handy
is this, they're pricey, so you won't be able to afford them for your whole
team. If you buy them for anyone, give them to your Chemist, so he/she can
get around the battlefield quickly enough to heal people.
Also stop by the shop at Gariland, which sells different items than the one at
Eagrose. The Eagrose has equipment for Knights and Archers, but the shop
offers Plumed Hats and Leather Clothing, which is better armor for your Squires
and Chemists. Pick up these upgrades as well; you want to make sure your
Chemists stay alive so they can heal people! (Unlike in a lot of games,
armor in FF Tactics doesn't actually reduce the damage you take; it gives you
more HP or MP. Still, it helps you stay alive longer!) Don't forget that
you change Delita's and Argath's equipment, too, despite the fact that they're
guest characters. You can (and should!) have them learn new abilities, too!
You may want to gain some levels before proceeding. You can do this by
strolling back and forth across the Mandalia Plain until you get into a random
battle. Note that while Ramza is required in story battles, you do NOT have to
deploy Ramza during the random battles. (Also, since Delita and Argath are
Guest characters, they won't participate in random battles, only story ones.)
By the way, it'll help you out in some of the future battles if you're able to
teach Argath a simple Black Magick spell. This is pretty tricky, though, since
he doesn't participate in any of the random battles and can only earn JP in the
story battles. So, the only way to do this is to have your Chemists take
enough actions during the story battles that Argath gains some JP in the
Chemist job and is able to unlock the Black Mage job. It's cool if you can do
this, but don't worry too much about it if you can't; it's not *necessary*.
Your next story destination is the Siedge Weald, to the east of Gariland. Head
down that direction. When you get to Gariland, you'll see a scene promoting
the multiplayer mode. Continue on to the Weald and complete the battle there.
Before proceeding on to Dorter, make sure your Chemists have learned both
Potion and Phoenix Down. You can skip the abilities for all the individual
condition-curing items, though; most of the conditions are that bad and when
you get Remedies, those will cure *any* status change. Other good abilities
to learn are Stone and Rush. When you get the JP, pick up Move +1, Focus, and
Counter Tackle. Ramza can also use the Tailwind ability, which you'll want to
get as well. Chemists should have Potion and Phoenix Down.
When you enter Dorter, there will be a cutscene, and then you'll be tossed into
a battle at the Dorter Slums. This is a pretty tough battle. If you don't win
at first, try again, or build up your levels first. Upon your victory, you'll
be able to visit the town. There's no new equipment to buy, but stock up on
items. You'll want at least 10 Potions and 4 Phoenix Downs. Potions are cheap
(50 gil each), so there's no reason not to carry plenty. Also, winning the
battle at Dorter Slums netted you an Iron Sword, which is a better weapon than
anything you can find in stores. Equip it one of your characters.
Again, you may want to build levels before proceeding to the next battle.
When you're ready, go on up to the Zeklaus Desert, where you'll have a battle
at the Sand Rat's Sieve. This is a difficult fight--the toughest in Chapter
I--so it may take you a couple tries. After you win, you'll rescue the
Marquis. You'll also pick up a Blind Knife. It's not stronger than the other
knives you already have, but it does inflict Blind status on enemies (lowering
their hit rate), so give it to a Chemist.
Return to Eagrose Castle. You'll meet Duke Larg, and then Dycedarg will let
Ramza and friends in on the next mission against the Corpse Brigade. The
shops at all three towns will now be stocked with new items. At Eagrose, you
can buy Iron Swords for both your Squires and Knights, as well as
Escutcheons, Iron Helms, and Bronze Armor for any Knights you have. Gariland
has better light armor, used by jobs other than Knights. If you're using
mages, you can buy new magick weapons at Gariland and Dorter, as well as Hempen
Robes, which will raise their MP max. All towns also carry a new accessory--
the Shoulder Cape, which will boost both your physical and magick evade rates
by a little bit (10%). It's not really as useful as the Battle Boots, though.
The most important new item isn't actually an equipment--it's the Hi-Potion,
which is now for sale under Items! Hi-Potions restore 70 HP instead of the 30
you get from a regular Potion, and since you should have a lot more than
30 HP now, you'll need the healing boost. You can't use Hi-Potions unless
you've learned the Hi-Potion ability (under Chemist), so be sure to have your
Chemist(s) learn this ability.
Buy as much of the new gear as you can. There's a lot to buy, so you might not
be able to afford it all. Aside from restocking your item supply, the
priorities are probably the Iron Swords and Bronze Armor at Eagrose, and the
Leather Plate at Gariland, as well as restocking your item supply.
After you're done shopping, your new destination is the Brigands' Den, south of
the Mandalia Plain. You may want to bring more male characters than female
ones here, as there's a chance that one of the enemies can charm a female
character--but it's pretty unlikely, so don't go out of your way to adjust your
roster. The Brigands' Den is easier than the Sand Rat's Sieve, so if you won
there, you should be able to attain victory here. Victory here nets you a
Bronze Shield, which is a more effective shield than anything else you've got
at this point. Following the battle, there will be a cutscene at Eagrose as
the Corpse Brigade strikes back.
Strip Argath of all his equipment, as he'll be leaving your party shortly. Go
back up to Eagrose. A series of scenes will follow in which Ramza and Delita
decide to rescue Tietra, and Argath leaves.
At this point, you'll probably want to start changing jobs, if you haven't
already. If you change any of your characters to Monks, do so; they're very
strong fighters. If any of your characters have enough JP to buy the Knight
abiity Equip Heavy Armor, a good strategy is to learn that ability and then
make the character into a Monk--the heavy armor will make up for the Monk's
otherwise poor HP count. It would also help to have a Black Mage and Archer.
However, you will still want to have a healer, so give one of your characters
the Items ability. Before switching out of the Chemist job, you need to learn
(and equip) the Throw Item ability ... otherwise, your items will have a range
of 1, and, as Sonic would say, that's NO GOOD!
After you've finished changing jobs, be sure to buy matching equipment for
them. If you're just now switching to Archers, I'll explain the difference
between bowguns and regular bows: bowguns only require one hand, allowing you
to equip a shield, but bows deal more damage. Since Archers are usually in the
back line and don't get attacked too much, a shield isn't too important, so I
almost always use regular bows.
Note, also, that the Fire, Ice, and Thunder Rods (for Black Mages) boost the
damage dealt by your Fire-family, Blizzard-family, and Thunder-family magicks,
respectively. A good trick, then, is to buy a particular Rod and then learn
some of the spells that go along with it (e.g., buy the Fire Rod and then try
to learn Fire and Fira). This will increase the damage you can do with your
magick. These rods also sometimes cast Fire, Blizzard, or Thunder when
executing a physical attack, if your Black Mage happens to get caught in a
melee.
Return to Gariland. As you cross Mandalia Plain, an animated cutscene will
play. Once you get to Gariland, buy plenty of Hi-Potions (12 or so) and
Phoenix Down (6 should be sufficient). If you weren't able to purchase all
the equipment upgrades you wanted before the Brigands' Den, you could do so now
as well, but you're probably better off saving your money--there are even
better items coming soon. But if any of your equipment was stolen by the
Thieves in the last battle, be sure to replace it.
Go north from Gariland to the Lenalian Plateau. You'll have another battle
against Milleuda (Wiegraf's sister). After you win this battle, the shops will
again update their shelves with new equipment. As before, you'll find heavy
armor and most kinds of weapons in Eagrose, and lighter armor in Gariland and
Dorter. Buy what you can and replace any items that Milleuda may have broken,
then forge on the Fovoham Windflats.
At Fovoham Windflats, you'll square off against Wiegraf and his Chocobo Boco (a
reference to FF V). This battle isn't too difficult if you have good jobs.
Nothing is added to the shops afterwards, so if your item supply is okay, you
can continue directly on to Ziekden Fortress, the final battle of the chapter.
You'll probably want non-basic Jobs (particularly a Monk or an Archer) for this
battle. If you need JP, you can always go to the Siedge Weald or the Mandalia
Plain to fight some random battles.
At Ziekden Fortress, you'll find Tietra being held captive by a Gragoroth, a
Corpse Brigade knight. Argath arrive with some troops, and you'll find
yourself battling an unexpected enemy. After you kill him, there are a couple
FMV scenes, the fort blows up, and the chapter ends. The game will give you a
chance to save, and then you'll move on to Chapter II.
%%%CHAPTER II: THE MANIPULATIVE & THE SUBSERVIENT%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00walk2
You now return to the present, at Orbonne Monastery. Your current mission is
to rescue Princess Ovelia.
After a brief chat, you'll be given a chance to add Ramza's fellow mercenary
Ladd and both of Agrias's Knights (Alicia and Lavian) to the party. There's no
real reason not to take them along, so sign them up! They start with a bare
minimum of abilities, though, so they probably won't see much use compared to
the characters you're carrying over from Chapter I.
Note that to do one of Agrias's Subquests in Chapter IV, you MUST keep Alicia
and Lavian (as well as Agrias, of course) on your roster until the subquest,
even if you never use them in battle. Don't dismiss them or let them get
killed if you want to complete all the sidequests.
Agrias and Gaffgarion will also join as Guests. You still have all your
characters from Chapter I (except Delita) as well.
You'll see that Ramza's appearance has changed at the start of the chapter.
His Squire job is now able to equip heavy armor and shields, plus he has a new
ability to learn, Steel. Steel gives a character a +5 Bravery boost during a
battle, and some of this increase will remain even after the battle. Raising
your Bravery makes your Reaction Abilities and some attacks stronger, so this
is a good ability to learn. If Ramza has some spare turns near the end of a
battle, you can spend them using Steel to boost up characters' Bravery.
If you have any abilities to learn, get them. Since the Guest AI can be
somewhat poor at targeting spells, you may want to de-equip any spellcasting
abilities (Black Magick or Mystic Arts) that Agrias may have equipped. When
you've got your team organized, go north to the only location available to you:
Dorter, where a battle awaits you. Win it (well, obviously) and you'll have
access to all of the map again.
At this point, you should have had all your characters upgraded from the
beginning Jobs (Squire or Chemist) to more advanced ones. In particular,
you'll want to have a Monk, Archer, Black Mage, and White Mage somewhere in the
party. An Orator is also useful, but might take some time to get, as you have
to get the Mystic job up to job level 3, and Mystic itself requires job level 3
of White Mage. If you want to take the time to get it, you can also get the
Thief Job, which is unlocked by getting Archer to job level 3.
You now have the ability to take Errands at taverns. You can earn a lot of gil
and some JP from these jobs, so take them up (never more than one at a time,
though). Always choose to spend the maxinum number of days possible. While
the characters are away, you can continue on without them, or you have the main
group build up job levels with random battles. Or, if you just want to pass
time, you can walk back and forth between two blue dots on the map, which will
never trigger any random battles. (You can use Eagrose & Ziekden Fortress, or
Dorter & the Monastery.)
All the stores have new equipment, so pay them a visit to gear up your
characters. Remember that you'll have to hike back to Eagrose to purchase
heavy armor and most weapons. Conversely, you'll only find lighter armor at
the other two cities. Don't buy any equipment for Gaffgarion. (It's OK
to get stuff for Agrias, but her equipment is already really good.) Stock up
on Hi-Potions and Phoenix Downs.
Note you can have random battles at the Fovoham Windflats and the Zeklaus
Desert that occur on entirely different maps from the story battles there.
They also feature some advanced monsters, so try recruiting them with a Orator.
Just make sure to keep an eye on the number of eggs they produce; wipe out the
majority of eggs before they clog your roster.
This is a good chance to build up your characters if you want. As long as you
have the Jobs I recommended above and new equipment for your main squad of
characters, you should be fine. When you feel confident that you're done
preparing, go to Araguay Woods, east of Dorter. Here you have to save Boco
(the chocobo) from the goblins (pick the second choice). You shouldn't have
any trouble. After the battle, Boco will join.
Back on the map, go into your roster screen and change Gaffgarion into a Time
Mage or another crummy job. If you have the auto-equip feature on, be sure to
also strip off all his gear. Equip it on one of your other characters. He has
good armor, and the Power Gauntlet will give you an attack boost. (It's great
for an Archer, or another character who doesn't need the movement bonus of the
Battle Boots.) Then continue on to Zeirchele Falls. It's pretty here, but
there's still a battle awaiting you. Be sure to deploy an Archer for it.
After the battle, Delita will leave you with Ovelia. Ramza sets a new course
for Lionel Castle, so Fort Besselat disappears from your map, not to return
until much later in the game. Back on the map, help yourself to Gaffgarion's
equipment if you didn't earlier. If you need items, go back to Dorter.
There's also some new equipment for sale at Dorter and at Eagrose, so it's
probably worth making the trip as you'll want the new gear for the next battle.
However, you may want to pass on the Poison Rod for your Black Mages. While
it does a little more damage physically (and sometimes poisons its target), it
doesn't boost the power of any of your Black Magick like the Fire, Ice, and
Thunder Rods do. Since your Black Mages usually attack with magick most of the
time (I assume ;) ), you're probably better off sticking your existing rod.
While Ovelia is listed on your roster as a Guest, she won't actually
participate in any more battles. So, you're safe de-equipping her Wizard's
Hat and Wizard's Robe and giving them to another character. The Wizard's Robe
is an especially nice pick-up since you can't buy them stores yet. It raises
your magick attack, so give it to one of your mages. However, she WILL be able
to use some of her abilities later. So, go into Ovelia's ability screen and
teach her as many abilities under Princess as you can, then equip them.
They'll come in handy in a few battles later down the road.
The next battle is a tough one, so be prepared. You'll want Archers and Black
Mages, and, if you don't include a White Mage in the party, one of the
characters should have White Magick as a secondary ability. A Black Chocobo
also be helpful, if you can get one. (Boco will randomly lay eggs and they may
hatch into Black Chocobos, but there's obviously an element of luck/randomness
to this.) I ended up using Ramza, two Archers, and a Black Mage. If you don't
When you're ready, go south past the falls to the Castled City of Zaland.
You'll meet Mustadio, who is being chased by some bad guys. As when you met
Argath, you get a choice whether to help him or not, but this time the choices
work a little differently:
- Choosing the first option means that you DO NOT have to keep Mustadio from
getting KOed during the battle. This option raises the Bravery of each
character on your current squad (including Agrias) by 5, 1 point of which is
permanent.
- Choosing the second option means that you DO have to keep from getting
Mustadio from getting KOed. However, this option raises all the characters'
Bravery by 10, 2 points of which are permanent.
In other words, you'll get a Bravery increase either way, but you'll get a
BIGGER increase for helping Mustadio. Of course, this also makes the battle
harder. So, unlike the Argath battle, there's no clear "best option" here.
It's up to you which you choose. Since this battle can be pretty challenging,
you might want to just pick the first option; it makes the fight quite a bit
easier and you're only missing out on 1 extra point of Bravery. Again, no
matter what you pick, Mustadio joins you afterwards as a Guest.
When all the talking is finished, you're now able to visit the stores in
Zaland. There's not very much in the way of selection, but if you didn't
upgrade your equipment after Zeirchele Falls, the Adamant Vest, Wizard's Hat,
and Serpent Staff are all for sale here. (There's nothing brand new.) There
are also a pair of new Errands available at the Tavern.
Your next stop is Balias Tor. When you first try to leave Zaland, there will
be a cutscene. Afterwards, you'll be back on the map, but Balias Tor is still
red. Travel there for real this time, and you'll get into a fight. Following
the fight, a cut scene will pop up back at Eagrose Castle with Dycedarg and
Gaffgarion scheming.
You can now finally get to Lionel Castle--don't worry; there's no fight!
You'll chat with Delacroix and learn about the Zodiac Stones. Agrias and
Ovelia will then leave the party. Then you get to go shopping! There is a lot
of really powerful equipment you can get here, so load up on it (you should
have a lot of money by now). The Lightning Bow is a great weapon for any
Archers you have; it has a fairly high attack power and sometimes casts the
Thundaga spell. The stores also have a lot of new accessories -- you might
want to pick up a Mage's Cloak or two for your magick users. Finally, you can
now buy the Remedy item in all stores. It can cure any status ailment, so now
there's really no point for your Chemists to learn the abilities for any of the
other status-restoring items.
Buy any stuff you want in Lionel now, as you won't be able to do so later.
Since your access to the shops will be blocked off later, it might be a wise
idea to buy some spare pieces of heavy armor and helms. That way, if any of
your gear gets stolen or broken, you have a replacement.
Now that you've reached Lionel Castle, you'll be able to deploy 5 characters
in both story and random battles, instead of just 4. If you've been using a
core team of just four characters, be sure to get a fifth equipped.
Also, you may want to send some of your characters out on a errand if you
haven't been doing them -- you can earn a lot of money from some. Again,
walking between Dorter and Orbonne Monastery is an easy way to pass time and
complete the errands while avoiding random battles. Be sure to complete all
the errands before heading on to Goug, though. Once you get to Goug, it will
be a while before you can go back to the other towns to retrieve your
characters.
If you go back up to Zaland, you can also buy some new light armor: Green
Berets and Wizard Clothing. Keep your magick users equipped with Wizard's
Hats, though, as those raise their magick power.
If Mustadio has enough JP, pick up the Seal Evil ability for him if you haven't
already--it'll be handy in the next battle, as it turns undead to stone.
On to the fenlands. Fight your way through here on to Goug. Upon arriving in
the city, there will be a brief scene and then you're back on the map. The
store doesn't have much of anything, but if you've got a Orator or Chemist, be
sure to buy them a Romandan Pistol. The Romandan Pistol has a great range
overall, and is especially useful if you have a chance to pair it with the
Knight's Arts of War abilities -- you can use it rend enemies' equipments or
stats at a distance! Goug also has a number of accessories Make sure you're
stocked up on Hi-Potions and Phoenix Downs; you'll need them. You may also
want to equip the Archer's Bane ability on any characters who have it.
Try to leave the city and you'll be immediately thrust into a battle. Deploy
your Orator (if you have one), somebody with a bow, and somebody with Black
Magick. Ludovich, the leader of the Baert Company, will appear with Mustadio
and Besrudio (Mustadio's father) captive. Mustadio reveals the location of the
Zodiac Stone. Ramza forks it over and you find out that Delacroix was in on
the plot. It's fight time.
After a fairly tough battle, you check on Besrudio. Mustadio reveals that the
Zodiac Stone that Ludovich got was really a fake. Mustadio will now join as
you a normal party member -- now you can control him! The only downside to
this is that he can now be permanently killed. Be sure to keep him alive;
you'll need him to complete most of the subquests in Chapter IV. Musty's
equipment is all gone, so be sure to re-equip him. Also, if he learned any
skills while he was a Guest, they're gone for some reason.
The route back through the fenlands disappears. Take the ship (well, just walk
across the ocean) over to the Port City of Warjilis. Upon getting off the
ship, you'll see a FMV sequence with Delita. After that scene's ended, you can
explore the town. There's no new equipment available, but to make some easy
money, go to the bar and accept the errand (to find the Highwind!), then go
back to Goug and get the job there as well. (There will be a cutscene with
Delacroix's scheming when you leave Warjilis the first time). Just go back and
forth between the two cities until both jobs are complete. If you weren't able
to afford all the equipment you wanted in Goug or elsewhere, you should be able
to get it now.
Now that you have Mustadio, a good general trick for leveling up quickly is to
use Arm Shot or Leg Shot to debilitate the last enemy in a battle. Then,
you're free to let the other enemies turn into crystals/chests. Crystals from
human enemies are often a good source of new abilities. Also, while the last
enemy is Disabled or Immobilized, you can have your characters attack each
other to raise JP. If you use the right strategy, you shouldn't really need to
grind in this fashion, but it's an efficient way to raise levels if you decide
to do so.
Now go up to Balias Swale, where you'll find another fight. You'll deploy
two squads here to save Agrias from Delacroix's Gryphon Knights. This is a
really easy fight, so you might want to deploy some weaker characters to
give them a boost. Agrias will rejoin, this time as a controllabe, non-guest
character. Again, if you want to complete all the sidequests in the game,
don't dismiss her or let her get killed.
After getting Agrias, if you head back down to Warjilis, you'll find the shops
have a few new items available. Most notably, you can replace your Power
Gauntlets with the Diamond Bracelets, which gives you the Power Gauntlet's +1
Physical Attack but also +1 Magick Attack and immunity to Slow. The latter
ability is pretty handy in the upcoming battle, so buy some for your main
squad. You can also upgrade your Wizard Clothing to the Brigandine, which
gives you a few more HP. (You'll probably want to keep magick-oriented
characters on the Wizard Clothing or robes, though, for the magick bonus.)
There's also the Mage's Staff, and, in the unlikely event you have a Samurai,
the Osafune katana.
Your next stop is Golgollada Gallows. Make sure you're ready; this is a tough
battle. The execution turns out to be a trap, and you have to fight
Gaffgarion. Bring your Diamond Bracelets!
After you attain victory at the Gallows (it may take a few tries!), you'll see
a scene back at Lionel Castle in which you find out more about Ovelia's past
and Delacroix's plans. Then you're back on the map. When you move back up to
Balias Swale, you'll see a cutscene with Wiegraf.
Now, you can now wander around the map again. Next up is the final battles of
the chapter, which occur at Lionel Castle. However, if you want to travel
elsewhere, you can do so. If you click on any of the destinations PAST
Lionel Castle, you can walk right through the castle without getting into a
fight. Just don't click on the castle ITSELF until you're ready to fight.
Make sure that Ramza has the Chakra ability and Martial Arts equipped (either
by making him a Monk or by assigning it as a secondary action ability). Equip
the Archer's Bane ability on any characters that have it. When you've done all
that, it's time for the final battles of the chapter.
When you click on Lionel Castle, you'll have no choice but to attack the
gate. As Ramza tries to open the gate, Gaffgarion shows up yet again and
surrounds the castle. If you thought the Gallows was bad, here's more fun.
Actually, the gate isn't as bad if you play your cards right (see the battle
strategies). The save game screen will pop up at the conclusion of the battle
-- there's another couple battles right after this one. It's your call as to
whether you should save. I'd recommend saving in a separate slot in case you
need to go back to get more JP.
After saving, you cut back to Delita at Zeirchele Falls with Ovelia. There's
an easy battle here against the Order of the Northern Sky, but you get to
control Delita during it :)
Afterwards, you're given another chance to save (again, don't save in your
main slot). Then your roster screen shows up, allowing Ramza's crew to learn
new abilities or change equipment (which might be necessary if the Knights at
the gate used Rend on you.) When you leave the formation screen, you'll
immediately go to the next battle and start deploying your characters. This
time you're up against Delacroix, who uses his Zodiac Stone to turn (with some
pyrotechnics) into Cuchulainn. Beat him and he'll blow up (with more nifty
effects) and drop another Zodiac Stone.
Delita delivers Ovelia to Duke Goltanna, while Duke Larg maintains Orinus as
the heir to the throne. As the War of the Lions begins over these claims to
the throne, Chapter II draws to a close, and you're again given a chance to
save.
%%%CHAPTER III: THE VALIANT%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00walk3
Three months into the War of the Lions, things are looking back for both Larg
and Goltanna. After a scene of Goltanna's council of war, we cut back to
Ramza, whose new mission is to convince Zalbaag that someone is manipulating
Ivalice into the war.
You'll start the chapter positioned at Dorter. The shops have a lot of new
stuff--as weird as it seems, those Croakadile Bags are *really* powerful,
although expensive. The Headbands are also a great buy; not only do they
increase your HP over the previous hats, they also give you a physical attack
boost. (You may want to keep your magick users with the Wizard's Hats, though,
as those boost their *magick* power.) Now that you're in Chapter III, you can
also buy X-Potions, so you'll want to learn the corresponding ability with any
item-users you have.
The Poachers' Dens are also now open. You can now use the Thief's "Poach"
ability to poach enemies and get items from them at the Poachers' Den. Poached
items are cheap; you can buy them for half their usual price! You can also get
some rare items from poaching that you can't get anywhere else! Note, though,
that Poachers' Dens are only found in Dorter and Warjilis, not other cities.
(Sal Ghidos, which you'll reach in Chapter IV, also has a Poachers' Den.)
For additional shopping opportunities, visit one of the castles, Lionel or
Eagrose. There you can pick up the Ancient Sword, a strong sword that can also
Immobilize enemies, the Mythril Bow, and some other stuff. The Fire Shield and
Ice Shield absorb fire and ice, respectively, which lets you do a handy trick:
Cast a fire or ice spell that targets both enemies and an ally with the shield
-- you'll damage the enemies, AND heal your character! Not only does this let
you get around the "friendly fire" effects when fighting in close quarters, it
even replenishes your HP!
All this new equipment is expensive, so luckily there's a whole slew of new
errands, at least one in every town. If you're short on cash, I recommend
spending a while completing them, buying stuff, and building up your
characters. If you're offered any "contest" errand, take it right away,
because you won't have the chance for very long.
There are some abilities you'll need at the end of Chapter III that it's a good
idea to start learning now. You don't need these abilities just yet, but
if you build your characters towards those abilities now, you won't have to
spend time grinding for them later. Specifically, Ramza MUST have Focus and
Tailwind (both Squire), and Auto-Potion (Chemist). If you have the chance to
unlock the Ninja job for him, that'll also help out a lot, although it's not
strictly necessary. (It can be a bit of pain to unlock, though, as it requires
Ramza to at least have Archer at level 4, Thief at level 5, and Geomancer at
level 2.) For your other characters, acquiring the Dragoon or Ninja job on as
many as characters as possible is helpful, but also not a must-have. Combining
the Ninja's inherent speed and double attack with the Monk's Brawler ability
makes for an incredibly strong and quick fighter.
When you're ready to get on with the game, equip your team with gear that
boosts their Move or Jump ranges. Safeguard may also be helpful. Then go up
from Dorter, across the Zeklaus Desert, to the Mining Town of Gollund. There's
a fight here where you have to rescue Orran (although I can't imagine he'd need
much rescuing). Black Magick and Thieves are handy here. After you save
Orran, you'll chat briefly, and then he'll head off to the south, sadly
depriving you of his super-powerful Celestial Stasis spell.
There's no new equipment in the Gollund shops, so just head straight on to
Lesalia. There's no fight when you first get here, just a short chat with
Zalbaag. However, as soon as you leave, you'll have to fight Zalmour. It's a
pretty easy battle. Alma then joins up as a guest. When you have a chance,
de-equip her Healing Staff, Barette, and Red Shoes. The Healing Staff and
Barette are items you can't ever buy in shops, and the Red Shoes won't be
available to purchase until much later. (It's safe to de-equip all her gear
since, despite being a guest, she won't actually participate in any more
battles.) The Healing Staff is an interesting "weapon" in that it actually
restores HP to the character hit by it. Equipping it on a magick-oriented
character can be quite useful since they probably won't be doing much fighting
anyway and it gives you a free source of healing.
If you want to complete some errands easily, you can take the ones at Gollund
and Lesalia and then just walk back and forth until they're done. Before
leaving this region, you can also stop at the store in Lesalia to buy new
heavy armor. Then go down to Dorter; there's some new equipment here as well.
In particular, the Jujitsu Gi is a great set of clothes for fighting-oriented
characters as it also boots your physical atack power, and the Celebrant's
Miter is a hat that boosts your MP. (You'll probably want to keep your
fighters using the Headband for the attack boost.) Depending on what jobs
you're using, there may be weapon upgrades as well.
A more powerful gun, the Mythril Gun, is now available for sale. Since Goug is
the only city that sells guns, though, you'll have to walk all the way down
there if you want to buy it. (Note that the sea route between Goug and
Warjilis has vanished as of Chapter III.) It's 2 points stronger and a
stronger guns never appears in stores, so it's worth the trip if you didn't
get the chance to steal them during the Gollund battle.
Purchase anything you want, then head to Orbonne Monastery. Note that
once you enter, you'll be locked into a series of three battles, so make sure
that you're well stocked with supplies. You could also pick up a few of the
Jade Armlet accessory, since they'll be helpful in an upcoming battle, but
they're fairly expensive and not really necessary.
At Orbonne Monastery, enter the Monastery Vaults (it's the only option
available), where you'll find Simon wounded. He tells you about Funebris's
plot, and Ramza chases after the troops looking for the Virgo Stone. You'll
have a chance to save your game. All you'd have to repeat if you died is that
short scene with Simon, but if you want to save, save in a separate slot
since you're locked into a series of battle. The roster screen will come up,
then you will go down to the second floor and have a fight.
After beating the second floor, you have another save opportunity. Again,
save in a slot separate from your main file. For the next battle, you may want
to equip any accessories you have that boost your Jump statistic. After you
leave the roster screen, you'll go to the third floor for another battle
against Isilud. Upon winning it, there's yet another save point, and then the
last of the three battles, this time with Wiegraf. This time, equip any Jade
Armlets you have to protect yourself from his sword attacks. Afterwards,
Isilud escapes with a friend and your Zodiac Stones captive. Outside, Wiegraf
transforms in a rather frightening scene and Simon then shows up to give you
the Scriptures of Germonique.
Back on the map, go to the Chronicle option and check out your Artefacts.
Examine the Scriptures of Germonique and press Triangle to read it. After you
read it (which takes a while), go to Dorter. A mage will demand the Scriptures
and ask if you've read them. It doesn't seem to matter what you say. When he
leaves, the route to Riovanes Castle will open. Try to leave Dorter (just
click anywhere on the map) and you'll see an FMV scene with Delita and Ovelia.
After the scene concludes, go into Dorter and check out the shops, which once
again have some new equipment. The Power Garbs are a great buy; they're good
new clothes that also raise your attack power. And don't miss the White Robe
for your magick-users; you'll have to scroll down through all the clothes to
find it. However, you may want to keep your Headbands and Celebrant's Miters
instead of buying Black Cowls, since the Cowls don't have any special stat
boost. Similarly, the Diamond Shields are not an especially great shield since
they don't have any elemental properties, nor the magick block rate of the
Aegis Shield.
There are also a few new errands available down at Lionel Castle and the
Castled City of Zaland, as well as at Eagrose Castle.
It's now time to head north to Riovanes. As you head up through the Zeklaus
Desert, you'll run into a fixed battle. Deploy your characters, then there
will be a CG scene, as Ramza jumps in to help Luso. Defeat the enemy Behemoths
and Luso will join up. (Luso is the lead character from the Nintendo DS game
Final Fantasy Tactics A2, not coming to North America until 2008 ... he's just
moonlighting here :) .) He's basically a clone of Ramza, but he has an
intrinsic Poach ability (no ability needs to be equipped for it). This makes
him very handy for treasure hunting, especially during the monster-laden random
battles. (Story battles, of course, contain mostly humans and Poach doesn't
work on them.)
On the other hand, you may want to de-equip Luso's Icebrand sword and give it
to Agrias -- it will make her Holy Sword techniques extremely powerful!
After helping out Luso, continue on up to Lesalia, where there is more new
stuff (bows, daggers, and swords). Then continue to the Grogh Heights. Equip
some accessories to boost your Jump and smash your way through here (I actually
felt kind of bad killing those guys off) and you'll meet up with Orran again.
You'll receive a Mythril Gun in spoils from the battle, so if you didn't
bother to go to Goug to buy any Mythril Guns, equip this one now.
Your next stop is the Walled City of Yardrow. Here you'll encounter Marach
(the guy you met in Dorter) and Rapha. You have to save Rapha from Marach and
the Riovanes soldiers. Deploy lots of healers and magick-users; skip the
archers. After the fight, Rapha discusses her past. (Why the Grand Duke wants
Rapha and Marach's powers so badly is one of FF Tactics's great unsolved
mysteries ;) .) Marach, meanwhile, delivers a amphibian ultimatum.
Rapha joins up as a guest for the next couple battles. She probably won't be
all that helpful, though, since her Sky Mantra abilities only strike random
tiles in their effect radius and can't be targeted too precisely.
Before you leave Yardrow, stop at the Outfitter and pick up some better
equipment for Rapha. But do NOT equip her with any "rare," non-buyable items
like the Barette or Healing Staff; if you do, you'll lose them when Rapha goes
from being a Guest into a regular character.
There's also good gear for your magick users: the Gold Hairpins, which raise
both your HP and MP a lot, and the Black Robe, which strengthens the power of
any of your fire-, ice-, or lighting-elemental spells. (You may want to keep
healers on the White Robe, since it's got elemental defenses and they don't
need the offensive capability.) There are also some new accessories; pick up a
pair of the speed-boosting Hermes Shoes for later use. The Bracer is also
available. It's really expensive (50,000 gil), but it gives you a huge +3
attack boost, so buy one or two if you can afford them.
When you leave town, there will be another Delita battle. It's a piece of
cake.
Back with Ramza's squad, if you want to do further shopping, you can go back
down to Lesalia to buy new helmets, the Platinum Sword, and the Assassin's
Dagger. If you have Ninjas, Samurais, or Dancers in the party, you may even
want to trek all the way back to Dorter, as you will find new weapons for those
three jobs there.
When you've completed your shopping spree, fight through the Yuguewood and its
undead inhabitants. Deploy Mustadio and his Seal Evil ability will make quick
work of them.
Don't go on to Riovanes Castle just yet. It contains some very powerful
bosses, so you need to make sure you're prepared. For Ramza, you'll want the
Focus and Tailwind Squire abilities, as well as Auto-Potion from Chemist. Buy
a healthy stock (30+) of X-Potions. You'll also want at least one pair of
Hermes Shoes and a Green Beret. (If you sold all your Green Berets, you can
buy another one at Yardrow.) Also helpful are Jujitsu Gis and Chameleon Robes
(both of which protect against instant KO) and Jade Armlets (protection against
Stop), particularly if you want to try to learn Ultima at Riovanes as opposed
to later. Since the Jade Armlets are pretty expensive, you may not want to
bother buying them unless you're set on going for Ultima. (If you don't get
Ultima now, you can also get it in Chapter IV.) Finally, if any characters are
close to reaching the Dragoon or Ninja jobs, you may want to bring them up to
those jobs, as they are quite helpful. Zeklaus Desert is a good place to level
up if you need to earn more JP.
When you think you're ready, save your game, then pay a visit to Riovanes
Castle. You'll see a scene with Barrington and the Templars, then have a
chance to save. Be SURE to save in a separate slot from your main game, so
that you can get out of the castle if you need to go back and level more/buy
stuff. If you save in your main slot, you may wind up STUCK and have to start
again from scratch!
You then go to the first of a series of three battles. Strip Rafa of all her
equipment; if she gets taken out quickly in the upcoming battle, Marach will
also disappear. Equip the Archer's Bane ability on any characters that have
it. If you have someone with the Golem summon or the Dragoon ability Ignore
Elevation, you'll definitely want to deploy those characters. Finally,
equipping shields or capes for evasion may also be helpful. After you defeat
everyone outside the gate, a wounded Knight will crawl out, warning of the
Lucavi's rampage.
Now, make sure you're prepared. You're about face a Zodiac-charged Wiegraf,
and he is rather powerful. However, if you know what you're doing, he isn't
that hard to beat. Turn Ramza into a Chemist and equip him with a Mythril Gun,
then set his secondary ability to Mettle. Next, you need to drop all your
Potions and Hi-Potions. On the roster screen, click on any character and go to
Equipment. Choose View List, find your Potions and Hi-Potions and select
Discard. Throw away ALL of them, so that you can only use X-Potions when
Auto-Potion activates. Make as many other characters into Dragoons as
possible. When you think you're set, close the party roster screen and you'll
be thrust into a two-stage battle against Wiegraf.
If you win both rounds of the battle, you'll go on to the last of this sequence
of battles, on the roof. Be sure to save again. For this battle, make Ramza
into a job with a high Speed stat (Ninja if available, otherwise Geomancer,
Thief, or Monk), and equip him with a Green Beret and Hermes Shoes to boost his
Speed as high as possible. Equipping the rest of the team with accessories
boosting Speed or Move is helpful as well.
You can also try to learn the Ultima spell during the rooftop battle. To do
so, you'll need to deploy Luso (in his Game Hunter job), and equip the whole
team with Jade Armlets and either Chameleon Robes or Jujitsu Gis. (Keep Ramza
with the Hermes Shoes, though.) Or, if you took Alma's Barette, you can also
equip that to protect a female character against both Stop AND KO. It's pretty
challenging to learn Ultima here. There's another opportunity to learn the
spell in Chapter IV where you don't have to contend with a suicidal Rapha and
will have a much easier time. So, unless you really like a challenge, I would
recommend waiting until Chapter IV.
Anyway, after you (eventually) ward off Elmdore and his assassins, Rapha will
use the Zodiac Stone to restore her family to a happy ending. You'll get your
Zodiac Stones back, along with Wiegraf's Aries stone and Isilud's Pisces
stone. Rapha and Marach will offer to join. You'll definitely want to take
Rapha, as her low Bravery makes her ideal for using Treasure Hunter. Marach
basically sucks, but if you don't have a full roster already, there's no harm
in signing him up. He's pretty similar to Rapha in that his abilities strike
random tiles. What's interesting is that they do more damage to enemies with
LOW Faith, the reverse of most magick abilities.
%%%CHAPTER IV: IN THE NAME OF LOVE%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00walk4
Chapter IV picks up right where Chapter III left off. After a brief scene
in Zeltennia Castle with Orlandeau and Orran, you'll be plopped back on the
world map -- haven't seen that for a while, huh? -- outside Riovanes.
Ramza's appearance has changed again, giving him the ability to equip knight's
swords, powerful weapons that you'll start acquiring soon. He has also has a
new ability available (Shout), so be sure to learn that. You'll note that
Squire does not appear as a Mastered job even if you learn all the abilities --
that's because Ramza is missing the Ultima spell. If you managed to have Luso
learn it back on the roof, you can now have him cast it on Ramza in any battle
to teach it to Ramza. Otherwise, you'll have a chance to learn Ultima for both
characters later on.
Be sure to change back to your normal jobs if you're still altered from the
fights in Riovanes Castle. While you're still at Riovanes, you can do a bit of
equipment upgrading. There are new swords, shields, and armor available. If
you visit Dorter, you can also buy new a ninja blade, katana, clothes (Gaia
Gear), the Yagyu Darkroods shuriken, and the Angel Ring accessory. Pick up
weapons you might need for you current jobs (and if you're using Throw, stock
up on Darkroods). There are also a number of errands you can take in the
various towns, but many of them aren't worth the time they take (and you
sometimes LOSE money on them), so it's probably not worth the bother.
Now that you're in Chapter IV, you can start accessing the game's side quests.
First, assuming you still have Mustadio, you can head down to Goug to start the
Gollund Colliery quest, which will net you two great new characters (Beowulf
and Construct 8) as well as one OK one (Reis the Holy Dragon). This quest is
covered in the Gollund Colliery section below -- press Ctrl+F and enter 00col
to jump there.
Second, you can also access the event to earn the Tynar Rouge accessory ...
that is, IF you still have Mustadio, Agrias, Alicia, and Lavian on your team.
It occurs on 1 Cancer, which follows the month of Gemini, which follows Taurus.
So, if you're in Gemini or Taurus, keep your head up about that. See the
Agrias's Birthday section below for the full scoop on how to complete that
mission.
If you don't complete these sidequests now, don't worry--they have no
expiration date and you can always complete them later.
You'll notice that a couple new routes have opened up from Riovanes: a shortcut
back towards Eagrose Castle, and another down towards Dorter leading through
the new Mount Bervenia location. You'll need to visit Mount Bervenia later if
you're doing the Cloud Subquest, but there's not much to see there now.
Instead, you'll want to head towards Zeltennia, where Ramza hopes to meet up
with Delita in Zeltennia to discuss the Church's plot. Go up to the pass near
Lesalia. This is a routine battle against the Order of the Southern Sky. Whip
through here and continue on towards the Free City of Bervenia.
Before you enter the town, equip the Safeguard ability on everybody who has it.
Archer's Bane, Jump, and Ignore Elevation are also helpful. In Bervenia,
you'll encounter -- and fight -- Isilud's sister Meliadoul, accompanied by some
Summoners and Archers. She has some very useful pieces of equipment (the
Defender knight's sword and the Chantage perfume), so you may want to deploy
someone with Steal and try to snag them, especially the Chantage. (See the
battle strategies for more tips on stealing.) If you don't get them here,
there *are* other ways to get them, but it's certainly worth taking a shot and
acquiring them here.
When you win the battle against Meliadoul, she'll teleport away and you'll be
able to visit the shops in town. The Outfitter doesn't have anything new, but
if you were able to steal Meliadoul's Defender and/or Chantage, equip them.
The Defender is the first knight's sword you will have come across, which can
only be used a select few jobs (Knight, Dark Knight, plus Ramza's Squire job
and Agrias's Holy Knight job are the only ones who can use it now.)
When you first leave Bervenia, there will be another intermission with Delita
and Ovelia. Move on to Finnath Creek for another battle. You may want to
bring an Orator or someone else with Speechcraft and Beast Tongue as you may
able to recruit a Pig here. Instant-KO attacks (e.g. the Black Mage's Death)
or petrification attacks (the Mystic's Induration or Beowulf's Break) will also
be helpful here.
After crossing the creek, you can finally get to Zeltennia Castle. Ramza will
go to the church, where he'll meet Delita again. In an FMV scene, Delita
explains more of the church's plan. Zalmour then shows up, and it's fight time
(did you really think you could go somewhere without one?). With Delita's
help, it's quite easy. After the battle, you'll meet with Valmafra, then
Delita will leave (bummer).
Strangely, the shops *still* don't have anything new. However, you can now
begin the subquest to recruit Balthier. It requires trekking back down to
Gariland, so you can either do it now or just wait until you pass through that
way a few battles later. For the full scoop on the Balthier quest, see the
Recruiting Balthier section -- press Ctrl+F and enter 00balt to jump down
there.
Restock your items; you'll need lots of X-Potions. You may also want to grab
a couple Aegis Shields for any shield-using characters, if you don't already
have some in your inventory. Then go to the Beddha Sandwaste, south of
Bervenia. Here you'll encounter another Knight Templar, Barich, in a tough
battle. To prepare yourself, you may want to equip White Robes and Aegis
Shields to protect against enemy magic; deploying someone with the Esuna
White Magick spell may also be helpful. This is one the last difficult
encounters of the game, as pretty soon you... well, you'll see.
After beating Barich (it may well take you a few tries), go to Fort Besselat.
You'll have a choice as to whether to attack the south or north wall. Each is
a different battle. I find that the south wall is easier, especially if you
don't have characters with a good Jump rating. Still, a good Jump stat is
useful for either battle, as is Archer's Bane.
Whichever way you go, you'll end up at the floodgate. Save your game in a
different slot, then continue. There's a second battle at the sluice. After
Ramza blows up the sluice, he, Orran, and Valmafra will rescue Orlandeau.
Orran goes back to Zeltennia to guard Ovelia, but Orlandeau THEN JOINS YOU!
YAHOO!! If you just heard a giant sucking sound, it was all the challenge
going down to Mexico (er, unless you live in Mexico, then it all went to
Zimbabwe). Orlandeau is ridiculously powerful, and once you have him, hardly
anyone in the game has a chance against you. He has all of Agrias's,
Gaffgarion's, and Meliadoul's sword techniques, plus a full set of Crystal
equipment and the Excalibur, the latter of which gives him a permanent Haste.
He can also use every type of sword (katana, knight's sword, etc.). To put it
simply, he is hell on wheels.
Meanwhile, Delita advances his power. A cutscene pops up instructing you to go
to Limberry. A handy new path now opens up between Fort Besselat and Zeirchele
Falls. If you didn't already recruit Balthier, now is a great time to hike
over to Gariland and begin that quest. (Again, see the Recruiting Balthier
section below for the full scoop.)
Your next stop is the Trade City of Sal Ghidos. On the way, stop in at
Zeltennia. Finally, there's new equipment for sale! Aside from one hat that
becomes available after Limberry, the gear here and at Sal Ghidos is the last
round of equipment upgrades you can find in stores. There's better equipment
out there, of course, but you have to steal or find it; you can't buy it.
There's no point in holding back on upgrading, but save 50,000 - 75,000 gil or
so for some accessories you'll need for the next arc.
At Zeltennia, you'll find a new knife, sword, crossbow, polearm, shield, helm,
armor, and the Featherweave Cloak accessory. Note that there are two new sets
of armor available: the Crystal Mirror, which is a "regular" set of armor, and
the Mirror Mail, which gives the character a permanent Reflect (basically the
same as a Reflect Ring, but it doesn't take up your accessory slot :) ). This
reflects enemy spells, but it also reflects your own cure spells or buffs. If
you only use items to heal, though, the Reflect effect can be useful.
At your next stop, the Trade City of Sal Ghidos, you'll run into what is
probably a familiar face ... it's Aerith! Choose the SECOND option to buy a
flower from her; you'll need to do so if you want to complete all the
subquests. Be careful not to speed through the text and choose the first
option by mistake!
Once you have the flower, you can complete the Nelveska Temple quest (again,
covered below in the subquests section), though this also requires you to have
finished the Gollund Colliery quest first. The Nelveska Temple nets you one
character upgrade, as well as the chance to acquire some rare items via the
Treasure Hunter ability. Completing the Nelveska Temple in turn opens the
Recruiting Cloud quest, which lets you recruit Cloud from Final Fantasy VII
into your party. If you accidentally do NOT buy the flower, however, you'll
miss out on your chance on complete these quests.
After meeting with Aerith at Sal Ghidos, head into town (yup, there's no
fight). There's yet more new equipment! Will the wonders never cease? Be
sure to stop in for an upgrade. You can get new knives, katanas, polearms,
poles, clothes, and hats. There's also the new Luminous Robe, although it
doesn't have any special bonuses, so if you're using Black Magick, you may
prefer to keep the Black Robe for its offensive bonuses.
Before you leave, you'll want to have a good selection of equipment to protect
yourself against the status conditions you'll face at Limberry. Jujitsu Gis
and Jade Armlets are especially helpful, as they protect against the KO and
Stop conditions that Celia and Lettie throw at you, and Protect Rings will
defend against Sleep and Doom. You may also want to pick up a Nu Khai Armband
or two for male characters; these protect against Charm.
There are also a couple of new errands. Since Zeltennia and Sal Ghidos are
right next to each other, you can easily clear the errands in either town (as
well as in Bervenia) just by walking back and forth between them. They may
help you out if you need to earn a little cash to buy stuff, though, in many
cases, they're just as likely to lose you money as to earn you it. If you
still need more money, you could complete the next two story battles (en route
to Limberry), then come back to Sal Ghidos to shop with the bonus gil you
received.
Pop on down to Mount Germinas, where you'll have a run-in with some bandits.
With Orlandeau in your party, this battle is a breeze. There is one unique
item here, which you can obtain either during the story battle or a random
battle. It's the Invisibility Cloak, a cloak that (as you might expect)
automatically makes you invisible. To get the cloak, first save the game;
then equip someone with Treasure Hunter ability and move him/her to the top of
the mountain. You'll receive either an Ether or the cloak; the LOWER your
Bravery, the HIGHER your chances of getting the cloak. (Rapha is good for this
because she has a pretty low Bravery.) If you get the Ether, you lose your
shot at getting the cloak, so you'll have to reset and try again. There's no
time limit on attempting to get the cloak (as long as you don't search and get
an Ether), so if you don't have a good Move/Jump range or if your Bravery is
too low, you can skip it for now and come back later.
After Mount Germinas, you'll go to Lake Poescas. This is another undead
scenario, but it's really easy. As always, Mustadio and (if you have him)
Balthier are good for petrifying the undead. You then see a scene with
Dycedarg, after which you can go to Limberry Castle.
There's a sequence of four battles at Limberry Castle; as usual, you'll want to
save in a different slot between them, so that you don't lock yourself in. The
first battle is at the gate (isn't it always?). You'll be fighting Celia and
Lettie again, so equipping your anti-Stop/KO/Charm gear is essential. The
battle is pretty easy, but it's your best chance to learn Ultima. To do so,
just make Ramza into a Squire before the battle and he'll learn the spell when
Celia or Lettie casts it on him. (Luso can also learn the spell, but it's
probably easiest to just have Ramza learn it here and then later teach it to
Luso by having Ramza cast it on him.)
After winning the gate battle, you'll see a story scene with Elmdore and
Folmarv. Keep your status protection gear equipped for the next battle. If
Ramza already learned Ultima, you can switch him back to his regular job now;
otherwise, you'll have a second chance in this next battle.
The second battle is against Elmdore, Celia, and Lettie in the keep. If you're
looking for revenge from the Riovanes Castle Roof, now's your chance -- but
look out, Elmdore is still pretty darn tough, and nearly impossible to hit.
Check the battle strategies if you need help beating him.
After defeating Elmdore in the keep, you can return your equipment to normal as
you won't have to fight Celia and Lettie any more. Next up is the courtyard,
you'll have to square off against an old "friend." Deploying someone who can
inflict Disable status (e.g. Mustadio, Balthier, Beowulf, or an Oracle) is
particularly important for this battle.
Finally, you'll proceed down to the basement for the last battle in this
sequence and your last encounter with Elmdore -- now in Lucavi form. Equipping
Protect Rings beforehand will help guard against some of the status attacks he
uses on you. Meliadoul will also help you out here.
After you defeat Elmdore for the last time, you'll collect two more Zodiac
Stones--Elmdore's Gemini stone and Meliadoul's Sagittarius stone--and Meliadoul
will offer to join you. Although she's not quite as powerful as Orlandeau
(Orlandeau has all her sword techniques, plus more!), her sword techniques are
still pretty good ... and, unlike in the PSone version, they work on monsters!
She also has a pretty high Faith, so she's good with magick too. She comes
equipped with the Save the Queen knight's sword; if you don't plan on using
her, give this sword to someone else as it's probably stronger than anything
else you have save the Excalibur.
Limberry Castle is now a normal town, so you can go to the Tavern and Outfitter
(although there's nothing new at the shop). When you try to leave, you'll see
a long set of story scenes with Ovelia and then with Zalbaag. Now take a look
at map. You'll note Eagrose Castle has turned red. It's time to hike all the
way back there.
A new wilderness location has opened up west of Limberry: Dorvauldar Marsh.
Although nothing story-related happens here and you never *have* to visit, it
provides a handy shortcut between Limberry and Fort Besselat.
As you make your way back to Eagrose, stop in at a non-castle town. You can
now buy Thief's Caps, the last piece of new equipment that the shops will
carry. If you don't have any Nu Khai Armbands, you'll also want to acquire
a set of those for an upcoming battle.
If you step into Dorter on the way back to Eagrose, you'll have an extra battle
against Cletienne, another of Folmarv's henchmen. Meliadoul automatically
participates as a guest in this battle, so be sure to equip her accordingly.
Alternately, you can avoid this battle entirely if you go to Bervenia and head
west along the northern coast ... but this is such a long and circuitous route
that you're likely to have more random battles than you save by avoiding
Cletienne. (Note that the Cletienne battle will also not trigger if you never
admitted into Meliadoul into your party or if she has already been killed or
fired.)
When you finally do reach Eagrose, Ramza will open the gate (no gate battle,
yay!), and then you'll line up for a fight. For an easy victory, deploy
Agrias, Orlandeau, and Meliadoul. You'll fight a two-stage battle against
another Lucavi, Adrammelech. When killed, he will yield the Capricorn Zodiac
Stone.
Now that you've defeated Adrammelech, many towns around the map have new
errands to complete. But to get on with the game, go to Gariland. Stock up on
Holy Water and take the new route south to Mullonde. At Mullonde, you'll be
treated to a series of battles, beginning outside the church (not that hard),
and progressing inside, where you'll face off against Folmarv, Loffrey, and
Cletienne. Equip Safeguard here since Loffrey likes to break your equipment.
The three Knights Templar will teleport away after you beat on them for a
while. If any of your equipment got broken in this battle, you'll need to
replace it; strip the gear from somebody you're not going to be using in the
next battle.
You'll then go to the sanctuary, where Ramza will have to fight a possessed
former ally. This is the last of the sequence of the battles at Mullonde;
afterwards, Ramza will meet up with a dying Funebris, who tells him that
Folmarv is going to Orbonne Monastery.
Back on the map, a handy route has opened up between Mullonde and the Clockwork
City of Goug. Another set of subquests becomes available: Midlight's Deep in
Warjilis Trade City, Disorder in the Order (in Zeltennia and Dorter), and (if
you've already completed the Nelveska Temple quest) Lionel's New Liege Lord.
And if you're still working on the earlier subquests, the new route between
Mullonde and Goug makes them a lot easier. If you're going to do these quests
or anything else on the map, take care of it now! Once you go to Orbonne
Monastery, you're locked into the game's final series of battles.
Before you go to Orbonne, make sure you're ready. Your main team of characters
should be at least level 40. Equip yourself with all your best abilities, and
change to your best jobs. Earning JP doesn't matter now. In truth, the last
sequence of battles isn't all that difficult, just long. You may also want to
buy a couple pairs of Winged Boots since they'll be helpful in one of the
upcoming battles. Definitely purchase some Thief's Caps if you haven't
already.
!!!CAUTION!!!
Once you enter Orbonne, there is NO way to return to the world map. If you
want to be able to continue playing the game on the world map, you must keep a
save from before you entered the Monastery. Once you enter the Monastery,
save in a DIFFERENT slot.
!!!CAUTION!!!
The first battle at Orbonne is against some generic enemies -- an easy battle.
Afterwards, you'll move on to the fifth for the next battle. Beforehand,
ready your Safeguard abilities to protect yourself from Crush attacks.
Equipping Winged Boots or the Jump +x and Fly abilities will also help you
navigate the pit-laden terrain.
On the fifth level, you'll face the first of a series of four battles against
the Zodiac Braves. First up is Loffrey. After you defeat him, he'll suck you
through a portal to the Necrohol of Mullonde (of no apparent relation to
Mullonde Cathedral), then destroy the way back. Return your abilities and
equipment to normal.
Your next opponent is Cletienne. After that, you'll face Barich, brought back
to life by the Zodiac Stones. This can be a pretty tough fight; deploying
long-range attackers is a good idea and you'll probably want to equip Thief's
Caps to keep Barich from Immobilizing or Disabling you.
Finally, you'll head to the Airship Graveyard, which is really just a single
airship, and a rather odd location for a final battle. Folmarv will use the
Leo Stone to transform him into a giant lion, Hashmal. You may want to equip
your Jade Armlets again for this battle since he likes to cast Stop on you.
Defeat him and you'll get the Ragnarok sword. St. Ajora will then appear.
You now have one last chance to save your game and adjust your characters.
Equip the Ragnarok sword. It's strong but not quite as useful as the
Excalibur, since it doesn't give you an automatic Haste. But if you have two
characters who can use knight's swords (Knights, Dark Knights, and many of the
special jobs), you can give the Ragnarok to the second one
Another Alma will somehow appear. Ajora then summons four Ultima Demons in
response, then transforms into Ultima. Alma will join you as a guest for the
final battle, against the Generic Angel Boss (TM). After pounding on Ultima
for a while, Ultima will (of course) reveal his/her/its (?) true form, a
skeletony-type of angel. Thankfully, the Ultima Demons disappear for this
phase of the battle.
When you defeat Ultima's second form, it will blow up (nice special effects).
The Battle Is Won! Leave the game on after the credits for an additional
scene.
Note that when the game says it's saving afterwards, it's just doing so to
unlock some of the multiplayer missions. If you saved at any point during the
final sequence of battles (i.e., any time after you entered Orbonne Monastery),
loading this save will only put you back into the last set of battles and
doesn't allow you back to the world map. So, again, if you want to do anything
outside of the Necrohol, hang on to a separate save from before you entered
Orbonne Monastery!
If you haven't beaten Midlight's Deep and all the other subquests, you're not
done yet! Keep on reading for information on those quests.
*******************************************************************************
IV. WALKTHROUGH - SUBQUESTS 00sub
*******************************************************************************
Final Fantasy Tactics boasts a number of optional subquests, all of which
become available at various points in Chapter IV. In addition, some of the
subquests require you to have completed other subquests first. Specific
requirements for each quest are listed with the walkthroughs below, but I've
also provided this cheesy ASCII chart to demonstrate how they flow together.
Agrias's Birthday --------> Recruiting Cloud
(beginning of Chapter IV) /
/
Gollund Colliery ----------> Nelveska Temple
(beginning of Chapter IV) (after Fort \
Besselat) \
------> Lionel's New Liege Lord
Recruiting Balthier (after Mullonde)
(after Zeltennia Castle battle)
Disorder in the Order
(after Mullonde)
Midlight's Deep
(after Mullonde)
Walkthroughs for the quests are below. Battle strategies for the battles
encountered within these quests can be found in the Subquest Battle Strategies
section -- press Ctrl+F and enter 00bssub to jump there.
%%%AGRIAS'S BIRTHDAY%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00agr
QUEST BECOMES AVAILABLE: At beginning of Chapter IV
REWARDS: Tynar Rouge
A pair of Agrias-related subquests become available in Chapter IV. The first
one allows you to obtain the Tynar Rouge, a good accessory for female
characters (if not *quite* as abusive as the Chantage). To trigger the scene
in which you acquire the Tynar Rouge, you must move onto a TOWN or CITY (NOT a
castle) on the world map on the date of 1 Cancer, which is Agrias's birthday.
In addition, you must also meet these other requirements:
- Agrias, Mustadio, Alicia, and Lavian must still be alive and on your roster.
- You must have at least 500,000 gil in your War Funds. Only 50,000 of this
will be spent as part of the quest, but you must have 500,000 available.
- You must be in Chapter IV. (This event can be completed at any point during
Chapter IV, though.)
Assuming you meet the above requirements, if you move onto a town (again, a
castle will NOT work), on 1 Cancer, you'll see a scene in which Mustadio buys
Agrias the Tynar Rouge lip rouge for her birthday. The 50,000 gil cost of the
rouge will be subtracted from your War Funds. It's worth the expense, though,
as the Tynar Rouge is a great accessory. It can be equipped by any female
character (not just Agrias) and grants a permanent Shell, Protect, and Haste,
as well as a bonus to your attack and magick strength.
1 Cancer follows after 32 Gemini. The easiest way to ensure that you land on a
city or town on that date is to simply move back and forth between Gollund Coal
City and Lesalia. Both of these count as towns, so you're guaranteed to land
on a town on 1 Cancer. If you somehow miss the date and don't end up on a town
on 1 Cancer, don't worry; the event never "expires." You can just wait until
all the months cycle through and try again the next time 1 Cancer comes up, as
long as you still meet the requirements listed above. (Fortunately, the
villains are more than happy to postpone their plans of world domination while
you spend a year shopping for makeup.)
%%%GOLLUND COLLIERY%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00col
QUEST BECOMES AVAILABLE: At beginning of Chapter IV
REWARDS: Beowulf, Reis [Holy Dragon], and Construct 8 join the party
In the Gollund Colliery quest, you'll recruit three new characters: Beowulf,
Reis (in dragon form), and Construct 8. It's the first in a series of three
quests, also leading into the Nelveska Temple and Cloud quests. To complete
ANY of these quests, you must have Mustadio still around, so don't dismiss him
or let him get killed!
To start the quest, once Chapter IV begins, go to the Clockwork City of Goug.
Besrudio, Mustadio's father, will show you an iron sphere he's found. (If
you've already seen this scene, you don't need to repeat it.)
Now go to the Mining Town of Gollund, in the center of the map. At the Tavern
in Gollund, listen to the rumor "The Haunted Mine." You will be asked to fight
a monster in the coal mines. Leave the bar. Nothing will happen at first, but
go north to Lesalia. Ramza will automatically go into the tavern and learn
more about the coal mine job. He agrees to take it. On the way out, Beowulf
will stop you and ask you to take him with you. Choose the second option to
sign him up and he joins you as a Guest. (If you choose the first option and
reject his assistance, the quest will end and you'll be permanently locked out
of it!)
You'll note that the Mining Town of Gollund has turned red. First, equip
Mystic Arts as Beowulf's second ability, since he already has a bunch of Mystic
Arts spells learned. Go back into Lesalia and check at the Outfitter's;
depending on how far you are through Chapter IV, you may be able to buy Beowulf
some better equipment. Equipment that protects you against ice will be
especially helpful in the upcoming battles, so you may want to pick up some
Ice Shields or White Robes if you don't have any in your inventory. (You'll
have to go to a non-castle town to buy the robes.) You'll also need some
NON-ice weapons, so if your only swords are Icebrands, get something else for
this quest.
Save your game--there's an extended series of battles coming up--and return to
Gollund, where you'll be forced into entering the Gollund Colliery. You have
to fight through three areas in the snow. Equipping your anti-ice gear will
protect you well against the ice attacks you'll face.
After the three battles, you'll reach the Coal Shaft. The monsters here are
actually WEAK against ice, so strip off your anti-ice gear and equip any
Icebrands you have. In the Coal Shaft, the Holy Dragon Reis is being attacked
by an Archaeodemon. You have to save her.
After this battle, you'll get the Aquarius Zodiac Stone, and Reis and Beowulf
will offer to join you. Sign them both up as you need them for later quests.
(Be sure to keep them alive, too!) Reis, particularly while she's still stuck
in dragon form, is not that great, but Beowulf IS. In particular, shoot for
learning his Vengeance and Chicken abilities. Chicken does a HUGE drop on
enemy Bravery and frequently turnes them into a helpless chicken, while
Vengeance is a potent attack with a long range.
Now that you've got the Aquarius Stone, return to Goug. You will put in the
Aquarius stone in the iron sphere, which transforms into Construct 8. A
comical scene will follow, and then another new character, Construct 8, joins
you. Construct 8 is more like a monster in that it can't change jobs, but it's
super-strong anyway. It has a long-range laser attack, an inherent Counter,
and is basically impervious to magick and most (though not all) status
conditions. Sign it up for sure!
On the way out of Goug, if you've progressed sufficiently far in the game,
you'll get another scene in which Besrudio puts together another device that
requires the Cancer Zodiac Stone. If you've finished up Fort Besselat, you can
now begin the Nelveska Temple quest, below.
%%%RECRUITING BALTHIER%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00balt
QUEST BECOMES AVAILABLE: After completing battle at Zeltennia Castle
REWARDS: Balthier joins the party, Ras Algethi gun, Mirage Vest
Balthier from Final Fantasy XII makes an appearance as an optional cameo
character you can sign up for your team.
Any time after completing the battle at Zeltennia Castle in Chapter IV, visit
the Magick City of Gariland and enter the Tavern. Read the "Rash of Thefts"
rumor. Now, go east to Dorter and visit the Taven there. Read the new rumor
here ("A Call for Guards") that will have appeared if you read the rumor at
Gariland.
It seems like nothing has happened, but return to the map and try to leave
Dorter. You'll get into kicked into a battle (though not without a lengthy
FMV intro to Balthier first). Balthier will help you out here as a guest.
You can check the Other Subquests section of the battle strategies if you need
help, but it should be really be pretty easy.
Afterwards, you can sign Balthier up for your team. He's basically a
combination of Mustadio (he has all of Mustadio's Aimed Shot abilities) and a
Thief, with one unique ability of his own: Barrage. Barrage allows him to
attack four times in a row for 1/2 damage each time, essentially allowing you
to do double damage. His "Plunder" abilities are also a little better than
regular Stealing; when it comes to stealing equipment, a Plunder is 10
percentage points more likely to succeed than a Steal. (So, if a Steal would
have, say, a 36% success rate, Plunder will have a 46% success rate, for
instance.)
Balthier also comes equipped with a Ras Algethi gun and Mirage Vest, two items
you can't find anywhere else! Both are quite strong, so if you don't plan on
using Balthier, you should at least give his gear to someone else.
%%%NELVESKA TEMPLE%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00nel
QUEST BECOMES AVAILABLE: After clearing Fort Besselat and
completing Gollund Colliery quest
REWARDS: Reis returns to human form, various items found with Treasure Hunter
In order to begin the Nelveska Temple quest, you must first have finished the
battles at Fort Besselat in the main storyline, as well as having completed the
Gollund Colliery quest above. (Beowulf and Reis the Holy Dragon must also
still be on your team.)
When you first reach the Trade City of Sal Ghidos during the main storyline,
you'll be asked to buy a flower for 1 gil from Aerith. Make sure you choose
the SECOND option to buy the flower. You'll need to buy this flower in order
to continue with the quest. If you fail to buy the flower when asked, it seems
that you do NOT have a second chance to get it, which means that you
unfortunately can't continue with this quest :(
Once you've got the flower, go down to Goug and you'll see a scene where
Besrudio presents another device unearthed from the tunnels; this one requires
the Cancer Zodiac Stone. (If you've already seen this scene, you don't need
to go back to Goug.)
Now go back up to Zeltennia Castle. Go to the tavern and listen to the "Cursed
Isle of Nelveska" rumor. This will open up a new path on your map from
Zeltennia to Nelveska Temple.
Although you can open up the route to Nelveska as soon as you reach Zeltennia,
in order to actually trigger the battle there, you must have seen the scene
at Goug where Besrudio presents his weathervane-like device.
The battle at Nelveska Temple contains a number of rare items that can be
found using Treasure Hunter. These items include a super-powered Javelin and
Escutcheon as well as the Sasuke's Blade ninja blade and the goofy Nagnarok
sword. The Javelin II and Escutcheon II are especially worth picking up (and
the Escutcheon II isn't available anywhere else!). You only have this one
chance to get them, as there are no random battles at Nelveska Temple. Of
course, you certainly don't NEED any of these items and they can be tricky to
get, so it's up to you as to whether you want to try for them.
If you do want to get the items, you'll need to have a LOW Bravery -- the
higher your Treasure Hunter's Bravery, the higher the odds of getting a crummy
item instead. Rapha is great for this purpose since her Bravery already starts
pretty low. For the best odds, though, you'll want to lower it even further.
The best way to do this is probably with the Orator ability Intimidate; for
every 5 points you change her Bravery during the battle, she'll lose 1 point
permanently. (You could also use the Oracle's Trepidation for a bigger drop.)
Be careful not to reduce her permanent Bravery TOO low, though, or she will
quit the party (so using Beowulf's Chicken may not be a good idea). 15 to 20
is probably a safe number.
Whether you're planning on looking for the items or not, you'll probably want
to buy some Gold Needle or Remedies before you leave town for the coming
battle, or equip Jade Armlets -- the Cockatrices at the temple can turn you to
stone.
Go to Nelveska and you'll be attacked by Construct 7. This is the one battle
here, so search for the hidden items if you want, or just take down Construct
7. (See the battle strategies for tips both on the fight and on successfully
retrieving the items.) When Construct 7 explodes, you'll get its power source:
the Cancer Zodiac Stone.
When you try to leave Nelveska Island, Beowulf will use the Cancer stone to
restore the dragon Reis to her normal human form. She will then re-join your
party, keeping all her dragon abilities and adding many new ones she can learn.
Even in human form, her Dragonkin job can use very little equipment (just hair
adornments, bags, and some accessories), but she has an inherent Dual Wield
and killer stats.
If you now return the Cancer Stone to Besrudio, he'll summon Cloud ... but you
won't be able to go any further to recruit him onto the team unless you've
already defeated Adrammelech in the main storylie. (See Recruiting Cloud,
below.) If you've gone even further and cleared Mullonde in the main
storyline, you can also embark on the Lionel's New Liege Lord quest.
%%%RECRUITING CLOUD%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00cloud
QUEST BECOMES AVAILABLE: Immediately after completing Nelveska Temple quest
REWARDS: Cloud joins the party
You can get Cloud any time after you complete Ford Besselat. In order to get
him, you must first complete the Gollund Colliery quest, followed by the
Nelveska Temple quest, both described above. You'll also still need Mustadio
around.
Having completed both of these quests, hike all the way back to Goug. (If
you've finished the battles at Mullonde, you'll have a handy shortcut.)
Besrudio will power up the weathervane with the Cancer Stone and it will ...
summon Cloud. Cloud, in typical Cloud fashion, will refuse to let you
introduce yourselves and run off in pursuit of Sephiroth.
Now you have to go all the way to the Trade City of Sal Ghidos. Remember when
you met Aerith here earlier? Well, she's back, and this time she's being
accosted by some thieves. Cloud comes to save her, but has another one of his
schizophrenic breakdowns. You have to save him from the thieves. This is
quite an easy battle, although you may want to equip Safeguard beforehand so
the Thieves can't steal any of your gear. Afterwards, Clod... er, Cloud will
join you.
You're still not totally finished with this quest. In order for Cloud to be
able to use his Limit attacks, you need to find his Materia Blade. The Blade
is found using the Treasure Hunter ability on Mount Bervenia. The easiest
method is to go to Riovanes Castle and just move back and forth between
Riovanes and Mount Bervenia until you get into a random battle.
Once you're in battle, move your Treasure Hunter to the very tippy-top of the
volcano to discover the Materia Blade. You'll need a Jump at least of 4 to
reach the volcano top -- equip Germinas Boots if you need a boost. Unlike the
other rare items found with Treasure Hunter, this one doesn't depend on your
Bravery. You'll always receive the Materia Blade on this tile, regardless of
your Bravery; there's no chance of getting the wrong thing. Once you've
secured the Materia Blade, finish off the rest of the enemies to end the
battle. (If you end the battle by mistake before getting the Blade, just start
up another battle; the Blade never disappears until you find it.)
If you're having a hard time getting your Treasure Hunter up to the top during
the battle, one strategy is to kill off all but one enemy, and then use
Beowulf's Chicken ability to turn the last enemy into a chicken. This leaves
you free to spend as much time as needed navigating the volcano.
Equipping Cloud with the Materia Blade allows him to use his Limit command,
although you still have to learn all the Limit abilities individually.
Honestly, Cloud isn't really all that great a character, in my estimation --
his Limits take a long time to charge (you'll probably want to give him the
Time Mage's Swiftness ability), and he starts back at level 1.
%%%DISORDER IN THE ORDER%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00dis
QUEST BECOMES AVAILABLE: After Mullonde battles
REWARDS: Lots of stealable equipment
The second of two Agrias-related quests, this quest becomes available late in
Chapter IV, after you win the battles at Mullonde Cathedral. You do NOT have
to have completed the other Agrias quest (Agrias's Birthday) to access it.
First, after clearing the Cathedral, make tracks for Zeltennia Castle, in the
upper right corner of the map. As long as Agrias is still with you, when you
reach Zeltennia, you'll see a scene in which Agrias meets with Ovelia and sets
up an important later plot point. (If Alicia and Lavian are still around,
they'll also participate in this scene, but they're not required.)
Nothing else happens here, but you now head to the Magick City of Gariland.
and hit up the Tavern. If you saw the above, there will be a new rumor,
"Disorder in the Order." Listen to it.
Now, if you head back to the Brigands' Den south of Mandalia Plain, you'll
get into a battle against some deserts from the Order of the Northern Sky.
Agrias functions as a Guest in this battle. Be SURE to bring a character who
can steal, as there are a lot of great rare items you can get here. (Balthier
may be particularly useful, since his Plunder skills a little bit more likely
to succeed than regular Steals.) While none of the stealable items are
available ONLY in this battle, it's a chance to grab second copies of some
items you can't buy in stores. The extra Venetian Shield and Kaiser Shield you
can get here are particularly handy, and you can also get more magick guns, a
Sasuke's Blade, and Ninja Gear and a Barette. If you bring Orlandeau along,
you can also see a few extra lines of dialogue.
The actual battle should be fairly easy. Nothing special happens when you
clear it--it's mostly just an avenue for stealing a lot of great items :)
%%%LIONEL'S NEW LIEGE LORD%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00lio
QUEST BECOMES AVAILABLE: After Mullonde battles AND completing Gollund Colliery
quest
REWARDS: Genji Armor, Zeus Mace, Sortile'ge, stealable Masamune and Chantage,
Hydrascale Bag, other equipment
To begin the new Beowulf subquest, you must first complete the Nelveska Temple
quest. At this point, you will have recruited Beowulf and Reis and returned
Reis to human form. Beowulf and Reis must also still be alive and on your
roster. (It's not necessary to do to the quest to recruit Cloud or get his
Materia Blade.) You also have to completed the battle against Zalbaag at
Mullonde in the main storyline.
Finally, to activate the quest, you have to have read the "Lionel's New Liege
Lord" rumor that appears in Taverns partway during Chapter IV. This can be
done before or after you recruit Beowulf and Reis.
The main purpose of this quest is to acquire the Masamune and Genji Armor, as
well as a few other goodies.
This quest, of course, takes place at Lionel Castle. As soon as you visit
Lionel Castle after meeting the requirements above, you're thrown into the
quest, so you'll want to prepare first. Make sure you have a character able to
steal, as this subquest gives you a chance to steal a Masamune and a Chantage.
When you reach Lionel Castle, you'll see a story scene and Reis will be
spirited away. You're given a chance to save and adjust your roster before
being booted into battle. (Since Reis is presently kidnapped, you won't be
able to select her as part of your team for this battle.) Note that Beowulf
functions as a guest in this subquest. If he's KOed in the first battle, you
lose, so be sure to equip with some decent armor and/or a shield and deploy a
healer. (In thesecond battle, it doesn't matter if he's KOed.) The bosses
here have Safeguard, which renders them immune to Meliadoul's Unyielding Blade
attacks, so you probably won't want to deploy her unless she has some good
other abilities.
You'll fight a sequence of two battles at Lionel. The first is against
Beowulf's old pal Aliste. When you win here, you'll get the Genji Armor, the
second strongest suit of armor in the game. You'll have another chance to
save and adjust your team -- so equip that Genji Armor -- before moving on to
the second battle, against Bremondt himself. Be sure to deploy your stealing
character here, as one of the enemy samurai has the Masamune and this is the
by far the best place to get it. (See the battle strategies for more info.)
When Bremondt goes down, you'll receive a Zeus Mace, a very nice staff, for
your efforts. (There's a second Zeus Mace in Midlight's Deep, but it doesn't
hurt to have two!)
Beowulf and Reis are reunited, and in gratitude for all your help, Beowulf
hands over all his treasure, including a Gold Hairpin, a Hydrascale Bag, a
pair of Hermes Shoes, a Diamond Bracelet, and the Sortile'ge perfume. You're
now prompted to add Beowulf and Reis back into your roster, and this subquest
is now complete!
%%%MIDLIGHT'S DEEP%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00md
QUEST BECOMES AVAILABLE: After Mullonde battles
REWARDS: Numerous rare items, Zodiark summon, the Byblos joins the party
Midlight's Deep is a dungeon with ten floors (each a separate battle), each
packed with really powerful equipment. It's completely optional, and in
fact is more difficult than the actual end of the game.
You can only access Midlight's Deep after you beat Mullonde Holy Place. Then
go to the Port City of Warjilis. When you arrive, you'll automatically see a
scene in the tavern in which Ramza overhears a rumor about the Deep. (Fans of
the original PSone version of FF Tactics may get a kick out of some of the
dialogue here.) When you leave town, a route will automatically pop up to the
tiny island to the east, which contains Midlight's Deep, a ten-floor bonus
dungeon.
To enter Midlight's Deep, move to the island. Then, click on Midlight's Deep a
second time. Choose the floor you want to enter. (At the beginning, only the
first floor will be accessible, but you'll open up more as you progress.)
---General Instructions--------------------------------------------------------
BATTLES IN THE DEEP
Midlight's Deep battles are basically considered random battles, which means
that the exact line-up of enemies changes each time. It also means that you
don't have to deploy Ramza. The exception is the initial encounter on the last
floor, which has a fixed set of enemies AND requires Ramza to be deployed.
NAVIGATING THE DARKNESS
To make things challenging, every floor of Midlight's Deep is completely dark.
You can see your team and the enemies, but you can't see the terrain. Crystals
left by dead enemies will light up much of the area, but there's another way to
see. Select an attack with a really long range, like a gun attack, Beowulf's
Vengeance, Construct 8's Dispose, or best of all, Teleport (which lights up the
*whole* map). When you're choosing a target, most of the panels on the
battlefield will be highlighted, giving you a chance to study the terrain. You
don't even have to USE the selected attack, just select it, look at the map,
and then cancel back to the menu. Since you can do this every round, you
shouldn't have too much trouble seeing what you're doing.
FINDING THE EXITS
But not only do you have to beat the enemies on each level, you ALSO have to
find the exit to open up the next level. If you kill all the enemies without
finding the exit, you'll just be kicked back to the map screen and have to
replay the level before you can advance. To find the exit, you simply have to
move a character onto the tile that contains the exit, at which point you'll
get a message telling you that you "found a passage leading deeper." Once you
finish off the remaining enemies and return to the map, you'll be able to
select the next floor. You do NOT need the Treasure Hunter ability to find
the exits.
To make things tricky, the exit is RANDOMLY placed on one of several possible
tiles -- so you don't know where it is! But, the exit is usually on the
enemy's side of the battlefield, and often in a corner. Not always, though.
Rmemeber, the battle ends when you KO the last enemy, and if you didn't find
the exit, you'll have to replay the level. So, you need to find the exit
BEFORE you KO that last enemy. The easiest way to do this is to KO all but one
enemy, then use Beowulf's Chicken spell on the last one to turn it into a
chicken. (If the enemy has 60 or more Bravery, you'll have to use Chicken
twice before it actually turns into a chicken.) Once the last enemy is a
harmless chicken, it's easy to walk around the level and look for the exit.
Chicken lasts for quite a while, but each turn the enemy gets 1 point of
Bravery back, and when it has 10 Bravery, the Chicken spell will wear off.
But, if you always recast Chicken when it's close to wearing off, you can keep
the enemy a chicken forever :). Of course, you don't HAVE to use the Chicken
trick to find the exit -- it just makes it a lot easier.
While you do need to find the exits to advance, there's no obligation to find
the exit on your first visit. If the battle gets rough, it's fine to just
finish off the enemies and forget about finding the exit. You can look for it
on your next visit.
Also, once you've found a floor's exit once, you never need to look for it
again. So, if you return to a previous floor to hunt for items or poach
monsters, you don't need to worry about looking for the exit.
ACQUIRING THE RARE ITEMS
But wait! There's more! Each level contains a number of rare items that you
can find using the Treasure Hunter ability. Simply move a character with
Treasure Hunter onto the correct tile and a new item is yours. If a character
without Treasure Hunter steps on the tile, you'll often spring a trap instead,
but the item remains there, waiting for a character with Treasure Hunter.
(Note that even once the item is picked up, any trap on the tile remains there,
and then even a Treasure Hunter can spring it.)
As with most rare Treasure Hunter finds, you need a LOW Bravery level to pick
up the special item. The higher your Bravery, the higher your chance you'll
get a crummy Phoenix Down instead. (The chance of getting the Phoenix Down is
simply equal to the character's current Bravery -- so a lower Bravery decreases
your chance of getting it.) If you DO pick up the Phoenix Down, the "good"
item is gone forever, even if you leave the map and come back later. So, if
you want to get all the items, you may want to save pretty frequently and only
try picking up one or two items at a time. That way, it's easy to reset and
try again if you don't get the item you want.
Rapha is great for finding the items because her Bravery already starts pretty
low. For the best odds, though, you'll want to lower it even further. The
best way to do this is probably with the Orator ability Intimidate; for every 5
points you change her Bravery during the battle, she'll lose 1 point
permanently. (You could also use the Oracle's Trepidation for a bigger drop.)
Be careful not to reduce her permanent Bravery TOO low, though, or she will
quit the party--so using Beowulf's Chicken may not be a good idea. 15 to 20 is
probably a safe number and will give you some margin of error in case she gets
with a Bravery-lowering ability during a battle.
To make Rapha (or whomever you're using as a Treasure Hunter) more mobile, give
her Germinas Boots to increase her move and jump range. If available, you can
also switch her to an agile job like Thief, Dragoon, or Monk.
If you're having trouble with Rapha getting KOed quickly, try equipping her
with the Invisibility Cloak found on Mount Germinas (see Various Tricks). This
cloak causes her to start the battle invisible. As long as she doesn't take
any action and just moves around the battlefield looking for items and exits,
she will stay invisible and will be virtually ignored by the enemies. (She's
still vulnerable to area-effect spells.) The Septie`me perfume, poachable from
the Greater Hydras found in the Deep, and the Ninja Gear found on the sixth
floor of the dungeon (The Palings) also have the same invisibility effect.
And since the Ninja Gear is body armor instead of an accessory, it allows you
to also equip Germinas Boots at the same time.
As a caution, note that enemy characters with Treasure Hunter can also pick up
the rare items, which will prevent you from getting them! At the start of each
battle, you may want to check all the enemy humans to see if they have Treasure
Hunter. If they do, either KO or Immobilize them quickly to prevent them from
beating you to the loot!
LOCATING THE RARE ITEMS
So WHERE are all these great items? Of course, on each floor, the items are in
different locations. Since the tiles are not given any names or numbers in the
game, I've had to assign my own numbers to them. Here's the scheme I've used:
When the battle starts, tilt the analog stick on the PSP left or right. When
you do this, the screen will change perspective and you'll be looking at the
battlefield from a different angle. Keep doing this until your characters are
facing down and to the left on the screen.
Now, move the cursor to the lower left corner. This tile is (X: 0, Y: 0). If
you move the cursor to the right (using the right arrow on the D-pad), you'll
be at (X: 1, Y: 0), then (X: 2, Y: 0), (X: 3, Y: 0), and so on. If you start
at (X: 0, Y: 0) and move upwards (up arrow on the D-pad), you'll be at (X: 0,
Y: 1). So a tile like (X: 4, Y: 3) would be four tiles to the right and three
tiles up from the lower-left corner (again, this is when your team is facing
DOWN and to the LEFT at the start of the battle). I've given the locations of
all the items using this coordinate system.
For exact item locations, see each level's battle strategy.
POACHING
There are also a number of rare monsters in Midlight's Deep, and poaching them
can get you some unique items you can't find anywhere else. (See the Poaching
List for the complete list.) Fortunately, since Warjilis Trade City is a trade
city, it has a Poachers' Den. So, after poaching some monsters, it's easy to
head back to Warjilis and check on your haul.
If you're serious about poaching (and have space on your roster), the best
tactic for getting these rare items is to recruit a monster from the species
using the Orator abilities Entice or Tame. (The Dragon's Charm ability
possessed by Reis can also be used to recruit dragons and hydras, and works
100% of the time.) Once you've recruited the monster, just walk back and forth
between Warjilis and the Deep. As the days pass, the monster will lay eggs and
the eggs will hatch into new monsters. (You can use the Preview Monster Eggs
trick from the Various Tricks section to see what monsters you're getting and
delete any that aren't the exact type you want.) Poach THESE hatched monsters,
but leave the original in your roster. That way, you have a limitless supply
of monsters to poach. This is a great way to poach rare monsters that you
don't appear in the wild very frequently.
In fact, breeding monsters is the ONLY way to get a Wild Boar, which in turn
is your only source for two super-rare items (the Ribbon and the Fallingstar
Bag).
---Floor-by-Floor Walkthrough--------------------------------------------------
Whew! I think that's all the instruction you need. Now head on in! The first
floor, The Crevasse, is just kind of practice; the monsters here are very weak.
You can find two of the magickal guns here, although you may already have a
Glacial Gun if you stole one earlier. The Blaze Gun is a little stronger than
the Glacial Gun, though, and both are worth picking up. These "magickal" guns
do elemental attacks. Their damage varies; sometimes you get a -ra or a -ga
spell visual effect and increased damage. The damage estimate you see when
preparing to attack is the "low" estimate if you just get the regular spell.
Note that the Kiyomori hidden on this level is just a regular Kiyomori katana
like you could buy in a store, making it the most useless pickup in the Deep.
After you find the exit in The Crevasse, you'll open up The Stair. It's
similar in layout to The Crevasse, but is a lot more challenging. Bringing
Archer's Bane is a good idea as there are a lot of enemy Archers. After that
comes The Hollow. Here, you'll want to deploy range attackers as the enemies
start a distance and can easily be picked off. The Hollow also contains two
good pieces of equipment: the Yoichi Bow and the Zeus Mace. Be sure to pick
them up! In general, collecting all the Elixirs is not necessary as there are
quite a few of them and you can do fine without getting them all (or even any).
The fourth floor, The Catacombs, is also quite challenging. It may take you a
few tries to collect everything here, especially if you get a tough group of
monsters. But, the equipment available here is also quite good: the Kaiser
Shield as well as the Rod of Faith. The Rod of Faith is available here only.
It's a rod that gives a Faith boost to its wielder while equipped, increasing
their magick power (but also the magick damage they receive). You can also
whack other characters with it to give *them* Faith status as well. The
Catacombs also holds the Faerie Harp, but if you don't use Bards, you can skip
that.
Level 5 is The Oubliette. Here, you can get a second Excalibur sword, which is
definitely worth picking up (especially since it's right next to where you
start!). Although you should already have one since Orlandeau comes with one,
two never hurts ... the automatic Haste effect is incredibly useful! You can
give the second to another character who uses knight's swords, like Agrias,
Beowulf, Meliadoul, or Ramza -- or any character in the Knight job. You can
also find the Iga Blade ninja blade here.
Next stop is The Palings. You can pick up the lightning magickal gun, the
Blaster, here; it's the strongest gun available in single-player. The other
items -- Ninja Gear, the Cursed Ring, and an Elixir -- aren't that great but
they're all right at the starting pointing, so they're easy to grab.
Floor seven is The Crossing. The items here aren't all that great. There's
the Koga Blade ninja blade, and a Staff of the Magi. The Staff of the Magi
isn't very good; it has a higher *attack power* than the Zeus Mace, but no
benefit to your magick strength -- and how often do your magick-users hit
people with their staves? But, you want to bring Luso or somebody else with
the Poach skill, as there's a chance of running into the stronger minotaur
monster here. Either of the items you get from poaching it cannot be found
anywhere else.
By now, you're getting near the bottom, and the difficulty level is rising.
again. The next two floors will be quite tough, but they also contain some
very strong items. The Switchback holds the Ragnarok sword (not actually as
good as Excalibur as it doesn't cast Haste), Robe of Lords (a GREAT robe), and
the best bow, the Perseus Bow. The final normal floor is The Interstice. It
holds the game's best heavy armor -- the Maximillian and Grand Helm -- as well
as the Venetian Shield, second only to the Escutcheon (II) as a shield. You
want this stuff.
There's only one level left after this, appropriately named Terminus. There's
a boss encounter the first time you enter here, and it's your one chance to
learn the game's best Summon, Zodiark. If you want to learn it, deploy your
best Summoner (with Summoner as his/her current job) and arm him/her with the
Time Mage ability Mana Shield for protection.
When you enter Terminus, you'll meet some weird old guy named Elidibus, who
will turn himself into a Lucavi. You'll be accompanied in this battle by a
purple Byblos monster (its personal name varies). After defeating Elidibus
(and hopefully learning Zodiark from him), you'll get the 13th (!) Zodiac
Stone, Serpentarius. The Byblos will offer to join your party. This is your
one opportunity to get this character, so sign it up. He's only OK, though.
Congratulations! You've beaten Midlight's Deep! You may notice that the Deep
stays a red dot on the map screen even after you've finished off Elidibus.
Don't worry; you haven't missed anything. It just stays red forever.
But, there's still a few more things to do. Go back into Terminus after you
defeat Elidibus, and bring a Treasure Hunter. On the top level (where Elidibus
was), there are four items: two Elixirs, the Chirijiraden (the best samurai
sword), and the Chaos Blade. The Chaos Blade is one of the best weapons in the
game; it has a whopping 40 attack points, automatically Regens you, and
petrifies enemies!
If you're into poaching, you can find Pigs and Swines on Terminus, as well as
all the members of the hydra family. All of these monsters yield rare items
when poached. (And if you want REALLY rare items, recruit a Pig or Swine and
wait until it produces a Wild Boar, then poach that!) You can also use Reis's
Dragon's Charm to recruit a Tiamat. They're THE best monster in the game, and
they're almost as strong as (if not stronger than) Orlandeau!
For other rare weapons, equip all your characters with Sticky Fingers and go
to The Interstice. If you can run into some Ninjas here, they'll throw a
variety of nice weapons at you, which -- assuming you have Sticky Fingers --
you'll catch and claim for your own. If you're at a high enough level, you can
even get Chaos Blades! Masamunes, Chirijiradens, Javelin IIs, and most other
rare weapons can also be obtained here. (The exceptions are the weapons that
can't be thrown, like staves.)
What else is there left to do? If you leave Midlight's Deep and head back
around the overworld, some of the wilderness locations have "special" random
battles that you can occasionally run into, like the infamous all-Monk melee on
Grogh Heights. And at Mount Germinas, there's a rare battle against some gun-
wielding Chemists and Orators, where you can steal additional copies of the
magick guns, and sometimes the Stoneshooter. You can also continue poaching
monsters if you're looking to complete your collection of items -- see the
Rare & Missable Item Locations for where you can find everything. And, if you
haven't finished the other subquests, those are still out there to complete!
Finally, you can team up a friend who owns a copy of the game to complete the
game's multiplayer team missions, or battle against each other in the Melee
mode. (Note that you need to complete the main quest first in order to unlock
all the team missions.) I don't have these covered in the FAQ yet, but I'm
hoping to find some way to work them into a future version.
*******************************************************************************
V. BATTLE STRATEGIES
*******************************************************************************
%%%CHAPTER I: THE MEAGER%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00bs1
--Battle 1: Gariland--
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, Delita (guest), 3 others
ENEMY FORCES: Squire (male) x3, Squire (female) x1, Chemist (male) x1
The key in this battle is advance slowly and not to let your characters get
spread out. Stay on the left side, away from the bulk of the houses.
The enemy Chemist has the ability to heal the other enemies, which can be a
pain. If you have the chance to take him out, do so; otherwise, he'll heal the
enemy soldiers you've been attacking. Actually, you can stop him from doing
this time even if you attack him just once. He'll use up his turn healing
himself instead of healing any of the other enemies.
Attack from the enemy from behind or from the side whenever possible, as you're
more likely to land a hit that way. (Attacking from the back is best, but even
attacking from the side is more accurate than ahead-on attack.) At the end of
each character's turn, you choose which direction they facing. Make sure you
end your turns facing the enemies, which will make it harder for them to hit
you from behind! (When possible, you can even put your back to the side of a
building to protect it completely!)
Make good use of your Chemists for healing--you start out with 5 Potions and
you can use them to heal a character who gets injured. If you don't have
teammates who need healing, the Chemists can also attack. (Note that Chemists
have an inherent Throw Item ability, so they don't have to be next to a
character to use an item on him/her. This is NOT true for other characters
using the Item ability, however.)
Don't worry about Delita; the Guest AI is pretty reckless and it's likely he'll
get himself KOed. Since he's a Guest character, though, he can't die
permanently and will be revived at the end of the battle.
--Battle 2: Mandalia Plain--
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, Delita (guest), Argath (guest), 3 others
ENEMY FORCES: Squire (male) x4, Thief (male) x1, Red Panther x1
Your choice before the battle affects your victory conditions here. If you
chose just to fight the Corpse Brigade, you only have to KO all the enemies.
If you chose the second option, then there's an additional requirement: You
must also keep Argath from being KOed, as you will lose the battle if he gets
KOed. The first option is better, of course, since it makes the battle easier
and
If you DID choose to help Argath, though, you need to protect him. Start
moving a Chemist towards Argath right away. Fortunately, Argath will probably
flee away from the enemies and into one corner. Heal him just to be on the
safe side, and then you're free to concentrate on the enemies.
Attack from above if you can, and guard your back with the rocks scattered
about the battlefield or with other ally units. Remember that if you act
without moving, or move without acting, your next turn will come sooner than if
you both act AND move. So if there's no real need for a character to move or
to take action, don't do it just for the heck of it. Your next turn will come
sooner if you don't.
You'll encounter your first monster here in the form of a Red Panther. It's
the toughest unit in the enemy forces, but it's not too bad. Be warned that,
like all monsters, it will counterattack you whenever you attack it. Don't
attack the Red Panther using a character who's low on HP, or the counterattack
is liable to KO you! (You CAN avoid the counterattack by using the Squire
ability Stone to attack from a distance, but this ability is really too weak to
be worth using.) The Red Panther can also poison you, which causes you to
lose a little HP after each turn you take. You can cure this with an Antidote
if you want, but it's probably not necessary--the poison wears off after a few
turns, anyway.
This may be your first chance to pick up crystals or chests. When the counter
over a KOed enemy unit goes down past 0, the unit vanishes and is replaced with
a crystal or treasure chest. Pick these up by moving onto the same tile.
Picking up a chest will get you an item. Picking up a crystal will either heal
the unit, or in some cases give you the option of learning many of the defeated
enemy's abilities. (Note that although you point the cursor at an individual
ability, you actually learn ALL of the abilities offered, regardless of what
you pick!) Crystals from monsters will only heal you since monsters don't have
any abilities you can learn, and crystals from humans won't always offer you an
ability either. (Unless the units is in desperate need of healing, you should
generally choose to learn the ability, as this permanently adds abilities to
the character!) Crystals from humans are great to pick up as they can teach
you new abilities, so grab them when you see them. Monster crystals are only
necessary to pick up if you need healing -- or to prevent the enemies from
getting to them first, as they can heal themselves with crystals too! Chests
typically just offer items you can buy in stores anyway and so are not as
important to collect, but early on they can still be useful as money is
tighter.
If one of your OWN units gets KOed, you must act to revive the character before
the countdown runs down and the character is lost permanently. Right now,
you've got two ways to revive a character. If one of your Chemists learned the
Phoenix Down and you have Phoenix Downs in stock, you can use the Phoenix Down
to revive the character. Or, you can hurry and clear the battle before the
countdown runs out -- when you win a battle, any characters who have been KOed
but not completely erased will be brought back to life.
--Battle 3: The Siedge Weald--
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, Delita (guest), Argath (guest), 3 others
ENEMY FORCES: Red Panther x1, Goblin x2, Black Goblin x2, Bomb x2
This battle is nothing but monsters; watch out for their counterattacks! For
the most part, though, they're not too tough. Take out on the enemies on the
higher ground first before you start crossing the water. Otherwise, you'll
expose yourself to attack from above.
--Battle 4: Dorter Slums--
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, Delita (guest), Argath (guest), 3 others
ENEMY FORCES: Knight (male) x1, Archer (male) x3, Black Mage (male) x 2
The enemy has Archers and Black Mages, who both have ranged attacks and can
hit you from a distance. This means that you'll need to be more aggressive; if
you hang back at a distance, the enemy can keep hitting you from afar!
Note that when one of your characters gets hit with a Black Magick spell, the
characters in adjacent tiles also take damage. There are two ways to avoid
this. While the spell is still charging, you can move the other characters out
of the way, or you can kill the Black Mage charging the spell and stop the
attack entirely! Since the spells do quite a bit of damage, it's great to
take out the Black Mages as soon as you have the chance. They don't have much
HP so you can finish them off easily. (Note that spells can also have a
"friendly fire" effect -- if another enemy is in range of the spell when it
goes off, they get hurt too! You can possibly use this to your advantage by
positioning targeted characters next to enemy units.) To check when the spell
is going to be fired, press the Circle button when it's your turn, then use the
Triangle button to bring up the menu and choose Turn List.
There are two enemy Archers on the tall building beside where you start. At
the beginning of the battle, Delita and Argath will begin climbing up the
building to attack them. Let Delita and Argath handle the two Archers, and
send at most one other character up the building. The rest of your team
should advance down the street. Take out the Black Mages first since they can
do so much damage.
It's likely that one or more of your characters will get KOed during the
battle. Remember that if the counter over their head goes below 0, you lose
the character permanently. To avoid this, when a character's counter gets low
(0 or 1), use a Phoenix Down on him or her. Even if another attack takes the
character out right away, the counter will be reset and you've bought yourself
a few more turns to finish the battle.
Since you start on the street and the enemy has the high ground, Archers are
not particularly useful here. On the other hand, Move +1 is a great ability to
have as it helps you quickly close the distance between you and the enemy's
ranged attackers.
BATTLE TROPHIES: 500 gil, Iron Sword, Hempen Robe, Ether
--Battle 5: The Sand Rat's Sietch--
YOUR FORCES:
1st Squad - Ramza, Delita (guest), 1 other
2nd Squad - Argath (guest), 2 others
ENEMY FORCES: Knight (male) x 3, Archer (male) x1, Monk (male) x2
You'll deploy your characters in two squads for this battle. Be sure to deploy
somebody with the Items command (either a Chemist, or another character who's
learned the ability) in the second group.
There are two entrances to the fort. When the battle begins, send most of
your characters towards the entrance that's closer to Argath. This is where
the bulk of the fighting will take place. Argath will probably make a suicide
mission into the building, but keep healing him anyway -- if you were able to
give him a Black Magick spell (as recommended in the walkthrough), he'll be
very helpful. Don't crowd the doorway or you'll get in trouble. Let
the enemies come outside to you.
Meanwhile, Delita will head towards the other entrance. You might want to
send one other character with him. Hopefully, Delita's squad have the chance
to sneak up on the enemy Archer from the rear and take him out so he can't keep
shooting at the main squad.
Remember that if a character doesn't move on a particular turn, his or her next
turn will come quicker. If you don't need to move to land an attack, stay put
and you'll get more turns. This is especially helpful for your Chemist; by
having him/her remain stationary and throw items to the characters who need
healing, you'll get more turns and more chances to heal.
BATTLE TROPHIES: 500 gil, Hi-Potion, Blind Knife
--Battle 6: Brigands' Den--
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, Delita (guest), Argath (guest), 3 others
ENEMY FORCES: Milleuda [Knight], Thief (male) x2, White Mage (female) x2
I recommend standing up on cliffs on the left side of the fort when possible;
you have a height advantage there. Since you should have Hi-Potions now, use
them for all your healing needs--the 30 HP from a regular Potion just doesn't
cut it now.
There are two White Mages here. One has Black Magick spells as a secondary
ability and the other can use Items. The Black Magick-wielding mage is the
most dangerous, so try to take her out first. (You can use the same tricks you
used in Dorter to avoid their spells.) However, if the Item-using mage comes
out of the fort and starts using Hi-Potions, you may need to take her out first
or she'll just heal all the enemies. If either mage starts casting Cure, note
that you can stop it more or less same way you can stop a Black Magick spell --
either take out the enemy they're trying to heal, or KO the Mage herself.
After you've taken out the White Mages, concentrate on Milleuda. Her attacks
are quite strong, If you have the Rend Weapon or Rend Armor abilities (both
from the Knight job), you may want to try them on her. Breaking her weapon
will greatly reduce her attack power, and breaking her armor will reduce her
HP total. If you already have a Thief, you could try stealing her equipment
too, as she's got a nice set of gear, but you'll be able to buy all her stuff
eventually.
The Thieves here may swipe some of your armor, or at least your headgear.
Although this might be annoying, it's not really too bad; you can just re-buy
the items after the battle. What's much more deadly, though, is the Steal
Heart attack they may use on your female characters, which will turn them to
the enemy side. If you have a choice, try to deploy male characters for this
battle as they can't be affected by a Steal Hart from a male Thief.
Milleuda is the game's first boss character, which means that as soon as you
KO her, the battle ends, even if there are other enemies left standing. If
you're in danger, take her out quickly to end the fight. But if you've got
Milleuda cornered or otherwise have the upper hand, you may want to finish
off the other enemies for more Exp & JP, then let them die completely so they
turn into a chest or crystal.
BATTLE TROPHIES: 700 gil, Iron Sword, Bronze Shield
--Battle 7: Lenalian Plateau--
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, Delita (guest), 3 others
ENEMY FORCES: Milleuda [Knight], Knight (female) x2, Black Mage (male) x2,
Time Mage (female) x1
Play the first few rounds defensively to prevent any early casualties, and use
the high ground to your advantage. Send one or two characters after the Black
Mages, and possibly the Time Mage as well. If you have an Archer, send
him/her up onto the tall ridge and shoot down on the enemies.
After knocking out the Black Mages, concentrate on Milleuda. This time, she
has the Counter ability, which means that whenever you hit her with a close-
range attack, she has a chance of striking back. So, be sure not to use any
close-range attacks against her unless your HP is high. A good strategy is to
attack her with long-distance attacks like bows and Black Magick, which won't
allow her to counterattack. Milleuda might also use her Rend abilities to
break your gear. Again, as soon as Milleuda goes down, the battle ends, even
if other enemies are still standing.
BATTLE TROPHIES: 1000 gil, Silken Robe, Battle Boots
--Battle 8: Windflat Mill--
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, Delita (guest), 3 others
ENEMY FORCES: Wiegraf [White Knight], Boco [Chocobo], Knight (female), Monk
(female) x2
Wiegraf is the only real threat here; most of his companions are pretty weak.
Start moving along the bottom of the cliff and quickly take out the Chocobo
(Boco) and the Monk. Wiegraf and the other enemies will soon move down to
fight you. Finish off any enemies that are low on HP, then go after Wiegraf.
Wiegraf uses a couple different special sword techniques that allow him to
attack from a distance and (unlike magick) don't require any charge time.
Most of the time, he'll use Northswain's Strike, which strikes a single
character (usually for about 35 HP or so), but if your characters are close
together, he may also use Judgment Blade to attack a "plus-shaped" group of
tiles. These attacks are pretty strong, but Wiegraf doesn't have a great
defense, so if you hit him with a few strong attacks (Mythril Swords, black
magick), he'll go down quickly. Just stay healed!
Because you're fighting in such close quarters, watch out for the "friendly
fire" effects of your own spells! In general, if one of your allies is
standing right next to an enemy, a useful trick is to target the tile right
BEHIND the enemy to avoid hitting your ally when the spell goes off. For
instance, if your characters are positioned like below, target the space marked
with a *:
*EA (A = ally, E = enemy)
This way, you'll still hit the enemy, but the spell is positioned so as not to
harm your ally
As soon as Wiegraf's HP drops to critical status, he'll teleport away and the
battle will end.
BATTLE TROPHIES: Hi-Potion
--Battle 9: Ziekden Fortress--
YOUR FORCES:
1st Squad - Ramza, Delita [guest], 1 other
2nd Squad - 2 others
ENEMY FORCES: Argath [Knight], Knight (male) x3, Black Mage (female) x3
You'll deploy in two squads again for this battle. Deploy your best damage-
dealer along with Ramza in the first squad. The character in the second squad
are going to be largely useless as they start far away from the action.
Luckily, you can almost beat the whole fight just using Ramza. Just go after
Argath and completely ignore the other guys. He's only got a crossbow, so he
can't do much damage to you, and he's useless at close ranges. Just chase
him down and hit him with your strongest attacks, like Knight and Monk attacks
and Black Magick. You want to block him from climbing up the stairs to the
roof of the fort, as he has a good sniping point if he gets up there and it's
slow climbing up after him. Just position your characters between him and the
stairs and he shouldn't be able to climb up there.
Argath does have the Auto-Potion ability, which gives him a random chance to
heal himself with a Potion when you hit him, so you may want to avoid using
very weak attacks against him--the gain from the Auto-Potion may heal him more
than you hurt him for! (The ability isn't always activated, though. And Auto-
Potion also can't protect him whenever you land the killing blow. Again, as
you soon as you knock down Argath, the fight--and the chapter--ends.
BATTLE TROPHIES: None
%%%CHAPTER II: THE MANIPULATIVE & THE SUBSERVIENT%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00bs2
--Battle 10: Dorter--
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, Gaffgarion [guest], Agrias [guest], 3 others
ENEMY FORCES: Black Mage (male) x2, Archer (female) x2, Thief (male) x2
There's no boss here, so you'll have to wipe out every enemy on the map to win.
If you've got good jobs, though, this battle should be no problem. Just move
up the path and take out the enemies as you go. The Black Mages and Archers
do the most damage, so when you've got a choice, go after them before the
Thieves.
Agrias has a nasty habit of casting spells indiscriminatly on your own people,
thanks to the goofy Guest AI. You can either de-equip her spells from the menu
beforehand, or pay attention to which she enemy she is targetting and stay
clear.
BATTLE TROPHIES: 1000 gil, Flame Rod, Mage Masher, Phoenix Down
--Battle 11: Araguay Woods--
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, Gaffgarion [guest], Agrias [guest], Boco [guest], 3 others
ENEMY FORCES: Goblin x5, Black Goblin x1
Your mission here is to save Boco, Wiegraf's former Chocobo. The Goblins
aren't very strong, especially with Agrias's and Gaffgarion's help, so I
recommend just rushing them. Stay out of the ditches. Boco will usually
retreat into a corner, where will be chased by the lone Black Goblin. Boco can
take care of himself just fine, so don't bother going after the Black Goblin
unless you've mopped up all the other enemies.
BATTLE TROPHIES: Hi-Potion
--Battle 12: Zeirchele Falls--
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, Agrias [guest], Delita [guest], Ovelia [guest], 3 others
ENEMY FORCES: Gaffgarion [Fell Knight], Knight (male) x5
First, take out Gafgarion. If you turned him into a crummy job before the
battle and stripped off his armor (heh heh), you should be able to KO him in
one hit.
The mission here is to protect Ovelia, which means you can't let her get KOed.
She isn't in too much danger, though, since she can cast Aegis, which puts a
whole lot of good defensive buffs on her. She only has enough MP to cast this
once, though, and it wears off after a few turns. Just to be on the safe side,
keep a healer reasonably close to her.
Start off by taking out the Knights on your side of the falls. One of the
Knights from the far side will probably try to cross over, so position an
Archer (assuming you have one) on the corner of the cliff and shoot down at the
guy. Agrias tends to loiter in the water and may finish him off; if not, send
a character or two down after him.
A great trick here is to KO one of the enemy Knights while he's standing on the
bridge. Until he decomposes into a chest/crystal, his body will completely
block the other Knights from crossing the bridge. Since the Knights have NO
ranged attacks, you can use this as a chance to shoot at them from afar.
If any of the Knights drops to critical HP, he may try to flee up the cliffs on
the side of the falls. You'll have to chase after him, so it may be useful to
bring a character with a good Move range to this battle. (Battle Shoes and
Move+1 or +2 will increase your Move range.)
BATTLE TROPHIES: None
--Battle 13: Zaland--
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, Agrias [guest], Mustadio [guest], 3 others
ENEMY FORCES: Knight (male) x2, Black Mage (male) x2, Archer (female) x2
This is a toughie. If you chose the second option before the battle, you'll
have to keep Mustadio alive; otherwise, you can let him get KOed without
losing the battle. (Of course, choosing the second option also gives you a
greater boost to your Bravery.)
When deploying your character, deploy them in the "front" row (i.e., the row
where Ramza is already standing). This starts them closer to the gate and
allows them to get into the city faster.
The enemy is holed up inside Zaland and launches arrows and powerful Black
Magick at you through (and over) the wall. Any melee characters you have will
need to rush for the gates. In the mean time, your Archers and mages can fire
back with their own ranged attacks. Equip the Archer's Bane reaction ability
on any character who has it, as it will help protect you against the enemy
arrows.
Mustadio will initially do one of our things. Most likely, he'll run up on the
top of the gate and attack with his gun from them. This is the "good" outcome
since it keeps relatively him out of harm's way. But sometimes he'll stay on
the ground inside the city, which is bad news, as all the enemies will pick on
him and it's hard to reach for him healing. In this case, your best option is
to cast Shell on him to reduce the magick damage he takes. Note that you
can't throw items through the wall, but you CAN cast White Magick through it,
so you're probably better off with a White Mage for healing here.
If you've been using Ramza mostly for close-range attacks, he may not be much
help here. On his first turn, have him use Tailwind on one of your Archers or
Black Mages to boost their speed and get them more turns. Then start him
running towards the gate so he can get into the city and use melee attacks.
Make the Mages your first target, since their magick attacks are so strong.
Use Black Magick, bows, and the Black Chocobo (if you brought one) to take them
out as quickly as possible. Until the Mages go down, keep your characters
spread out so enemy magicks can't hit more than one of your characters at a
time. After the Mages go down, go after the Archers, then the Knights.
Mustadio's initial abilities seem to be randomly determined, but if he happens
to start with Beastmaster, land the Black Chocobo next to him. Mustadio's
Beastmaster skill will allow the Black Chocobo to cast Choco Meteor, a really
strong attack. (You can tell what abilities Mustadio has equipped by clicking
on his tile.)
Mustadio also uses his Aimed Shot abilities to put status conditions on the
enemies. Immobilize (from Leg Shot) will keep an enemy from moving for a few
turns, and Disable (from Arm Shot) will keep an enemy from taking action. If
a bad guy gets hit with Disable, don't bother targeting them any further,
since they can't do anything to hurt you for a few turns. A Knight that's been
Immobilized is also a low-priority target since he can't move to attack you as
long as you stay out of the tiles directly next to him. (The Black Mages and
Archers can still shoot even if they're Immobilized, though!)
As for the Knights, they'll probably try to climb over the wall on the side of
the map opposite the gate into the city. Agrias will attack them, but she
can't take them out her own, so help her out with your ranged attacks.
The Knights may also use Phoenix Downs to revive any Mages and Archers you KO.
Characters revived with Phoenix Down comes back with only a little HP, though,
so you should be able to knock them back out again with just a single attack.
BATTLE TROPHIES: 2000 gil, Mythril Sword, Hi-Potion
--Battle 14: Balias Tor--
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, Agrias [guest], Mustadio [guest], 3 others
ENEMY FORCES: Knight (male) x2, Archer (female) x2, Summoner (female) x2
This battle can be harder than it looks. The enemy squad has Summoners for
the first time (one positioned on each side of the hill), and their summon
spells can do big damage to your team.
On the first turn, Mustadio will probably chase after one of the Summoners.
Send a fast and/or magic-using character around the opposite side of the hill
to take out the other Summoner. The Summoners don't have much HP, so you
should be able to finish them off in a couple turns. Meanwhile, have the rest
of your squad attack the center of the hill. If you can attack the enemies
quickly, the Summoners may squander their turns casting Moogle for healing
instead of using damaging summons on you.
You're not *required* to keep Mustadio alive in this battle -- if he gets KOed,
you won't lose the battle -- but it's a good idea to keep him standing, as his
gun is quite helpful. As in Zaland, don't waste your turns attacking enemies
that Mustadio has Immobilized or Disabled.
A cool trick here is to use the Squire ability Rush to knock the Knights and
Archers off the hill. They'll take damage if they fall too far, and you'll put
them out of range of attacking you.
BATTLE TROPHIES: 1000 gil, Holy Water
--Battle 15: Tchigolith Fenlands--
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, Mustadio [guest], 4 others
ENEMY FORCES: Skeleton x2, Bonesnatch x1, Ghoul x2, Floating Eye or Malboro x1
The last member of the enemy forces is randomly determined; it's usually a
Floating Eye, but sometimes you'll get a Malboro instead.
Randomness aside, this is a fairly normal battle with a few quirks. First, if
you end your turn in the swamp, you get poisoned. (Simply passing through the
swamp as part of a move won't poison you as long as you end the move on dry
land.) This isn't that bad, but if you have a choice, stand on land. And be
sure not to end your turn in any water where the Depth is displayed as 2 -- if
you stop here, you won't be able to take any actions, as you're up to your head
in water. (The Ninja ability Waterwalking would prevent this, in the unlikely
event you have it already.)
Second, almost all the enemies (everyone except the Malboro or Floating Eye)
are undead -- that means you can use heal spells and items to damage them.
It's quite effective. If you've had a chance to learn Mustadio's Seal Evil
ability, he may also use that to turn the undead monsters to turn them to
stone. Other than those two exceptions, there's nothing here you haven't seen
before.
BATTLE TROPHIES: None
--Battle 16: Goug Lowtown--
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, Mustadio [guest], 4 others
ENEMY FORCES: Archer (female) x2, Thief (male) x2, Summoner (male) x2
The enemy Archers in this battle have a huge range and it's hard to stay
out of range completely. So, don't deploy any character who has really low HP
as you probably won't be able to protect him/her/it completely. Equipping the
Archer's Bane reaction ability will help you a lot, if you have it available.
Mustadio will be almost invariably killed at the start of the battle -- he has
no equipment and starts right next to the enemies. Don't worry about him.
He's still a Guest so he can't die permanently yet.
Move your guys up onto the roof. Use ranged attacks to take out the Summoners.
Note that both Summoners are one side of the enemy roof and both Archers on
the other. If you stick towards the side of the map with the Summoners, it may
keep the Archers from shooting at you for a turn or two.
Kill any unit that moves onto your roof; Thieves first, Archers second. Early
in the battle, don't chase enemies over to the other roof, or you'll get
surrounded. Just fire ranged attacks at them. (Later, once there are only a
couple enemies left, it's safe to jump across.) Your highest priority is to
keep your guys healed, not to hit the enemy. Useful abilities here are Chakra,
Counter, Firaga/Blizzaga/Thundaga, and Archer's Bane. Bows and guns are useful
for their ranged attacks.
When the Summoners start charging a spell, use the Turn List to check what it
is. If it's just Moogle, you're fine, as that only heals them a little. But
if they start casting anything else, it's an attack spell. Try to quickly
take out the Summoner before he can finish the spell, or spread your characters
out to minimize the hurt. Summon magick does a lot of damage!
If the battle drags on for a while, the Summoners may run out of MP. In this
case, you can pretty much ignore them completely as they can't really harm you
at all.
BATTLE TROPHIES: 100 gil, Thunder Rod
--Battle 17: Balias Swale--
YOUR FORCES:
1st Squad - Ramza, Agrias [guest], 2 others
2nd Squad - 2 others
ENEMY FORCES:
1st Squad - Knight (male) x2, Black Mage (male) x1, Archer (female) x1
2nd Squad - Black Mage (male) x1, Archer (female) x 2
Kill the Black Mages first (using range attacks if you have them), then the
Archers. This fight is really easy; just make sure Agrias stays alive.
Because it's so easy, it's a good time to let the enemies' counters run out and
pick up the loot they leave behind. (Paralyze Agrias or use Mustadio's Arm or
Leg Shot on her to keep her from finishing off the last enemy.)
The archer in the second squad has a Poison Bow crossbow you could steal,
although it's not too special and you'll be able to buy it soon enough anyway.
BATTLE TROPHIES: Echo Herbs
--Battle 18: Golgollada Gallows--
YOUR FORCES:
1st Squad - Ramza, 2 others
2nd Squad - 2 others
ENEMY FORCES: Gaffgarion [Fell Knight], Knight (male) x3, Archer (female) x2,
Time Mage (female) x2
Deploy at least one strong fighter in the second squad (Agrias is good). For
the rest of your team, anyone with a ranged attack is really useful (bows,
guns, or Black Magick), and Monks and Geomancers can be good too.
Note that although Gaffgarion seems like a boss character, KOing him will NOT
end this battle. You need to take out all the enemies!
You're surrounded by enemies. What you need to do to gain the advantage is
start climbing up the side of the gate, near where the first squad starts.
Move immediately for the scaffolding, though as move, you can continue to use
your attacks to disable the enemy forces.
Because there are so many enemies here and they all start close to you, you
need to limit the number of enemies who can functionally attack you at once.
Abilities that are good for this are Mustadio's Arm Shot, Agrias's Judgment
Blade (which sometimes causes Stop), and the Geomancer's Tanglevine (which
also causes Stop and almost always works). Leg Shot is also useful against the
Knights, but not against the other characters, since they can all attack from a
distance.
Once you start getting up on the scaffolding and gate, you can start attacking.
Go after those pesky Archers first. You can use bows, guns, Black Magick, and
Agrias's Holy Sword to attack from a distance. Most of these attacks have a
good vertical range, so you can use them from on top of the gate, or at least
on the scaffolding. Once you have the height advantage, it's a lot harder for
the enemy Knights and Archers to hit you, and you can fight them a few at a
time.
You'll be taking a lot of hits, so a good way to heal yourself is to not have
your healer move once he or she is in position on the scaffolding -- this lets
him/her get more turns. Throw Items has a really good vertical range, so even
if you're positioned up on top of the gate, you can throw items down to
characters still climbing up.
Gaffgarion is the most dangerous enemy here; not only does his Shadowblade do
good damage to you, it drains HP back to him. If you have a really powerful
magick spell (like Firaja or Holy or something), you can try using that to take
him out in one shot. Or, if you use Steal Weapon or Rend Weapon to disable
his Blood Sword, you can disable all his sword techniques (*and* net you a
Blood Sword if you steal it!). Otherwise, you'll just have to knock him down
bit by bit. Take out the Archers first and then start hammering on him with
your whole team, since you need to damage him faster than he can heal himself.
He has Counter; attacking from a distance (if you can) is one way to get around
this, but you can also just hit him with Arm Shot. If he's Disabled, he can't
use his Counter. You needn't take away *all* his HP; as soon as he gets to
critical status, he'll teleport away.
The Time Mages are your lowest priority here. Even though they don't have much
HP, taking them out is just a waste of turns as they can't do all that much to
harm you. About all they do is cast Slow, and if you brought Diamond
Bracelets from Warjilis, you're immune to that. So attack the Time Mages last.
Using Ramza's Tailwind to increase the speed of your most crucial characters.
If your archers or gunners have a spare turn, you can also have them try using
Focus to build up their attack power.
If you just can't win, try fighting some battles in Balias Swale to get some
better abilities like Arise, Equip Heavy Armor, Auto-Potion, Chakra (which I
would strongly advise you to acquire by now), etc.
If you deploy Agrias in this battle, there will be some extra dialogue between
her and Ramza when she finds out he's a Beoulve.
BATTLE TROPHIES: None
--Battle 19: Lionel Castle Gate--
YOUR FORCES:
1st Squad - Ramza
2nd Squad - 4 others
ENEMY FORCES:
1st Squad - Gaffgarion [Fell Knight]
2nd Squad - Knight (female) x3, Archer (male) x2, Summoner (male) x1
Move down Ramza to the ground and have him use Chakra on every turn to heal the
damage Gaff is doing. (If Ramza doesn't have Chakra, Hi-Potions should work
too, as long as you have enough of them.) Stay close to Gaffgarion so he won't
try to go anywhere else Don't attack Gaffgarion or open the gate; just sit
there and use Chakra. This lets you stall Gaffgarion while your other
characters defeat the enemies outside. (Alternately, if Ramza has the Time
Mage ability Teleport or the Dragoon ability Ignore Elevation, you can use one
of those to move him outside of the gate and strand Gaffgarion inside.)
Meanwhile, your other four characters have to take on the gang outside the
gate. The Summoner is the most dangerous enemy here, so try to take him out
immediately or use Mustadio's Arm Shot to Disable him. If he does start
casting a spell, spread your characters out so he can't blast your whole team.
In general, Arm Shot is a great ability for this fight, as it reduces the
number of enemies that can attack you at once. Moreover, putting Disable on a
character causes him/her to flee into a corner, which means that it will take
another turn or two to get back into the battle even once Disable wears off.
Note that putting Disable on a character who's charging up an attack will
cancel the attack. This is a good way to stop a Summon or Archer's Aim attack
if you've got no other options.
For dealing damage, Black Magick and Summon spells (if you have them) are
useful because they can hit more than one enemy. Agrias's Judgment Blade
works for this purpose too. Once you've mopped up most of the enemies outside
the gate, move Ramza up to the switch on the left side of the gate and he will
open the door.
Now, have your whole gang rush inside and attack Gaffgarion. Try to
rend his Blood Sword, or even better, steal it. Again, using Arm Shot to
Disable him is quite useful, as it not only prevents from attacking you, but
turns off his counterattack and prevents him from blocking with his shield.
He shouldn't be too much trouble -- the hard part is the fight outside the
gate. But, be careful not to let him pick up any crystallized enemies; he can
use the crystals to restore all his HP just like you can! Either pick up the
crystals as soon as they appear, or position your characters to block his route
to the crystals. You do have to take away ALL his HP this time instead of just
reducing him to crtical, but once you do, he's finally gone for good.
BATTLE TROPHIES: 700 gil, Mythril Helm
--Battle 20: Zeirchele Falls--
YOUR FORCES: Delita, Ovelia [guest]
ENEMY FORCES: Knight (male) x1, Archer (male) x1, Black Mage (female) x1
Delita is your only controllable character here. Ovelia is a guest. As
before, she'll probably just cast Aegis and run. But now that she has more MP,
she can also cast Aegis on Delita on her second turn instead of only casting
it on herself.
Move Delita across the bridge and start attacking the enemy forces. He has all
of the Holy Sword techniques, so use them -- with Hallowed Bolt and Judgment
Blade, you can probably hit more than enemy at once. Since there are only
three enemies and none of them are that strong, you should be able to defeat
them without much trouble. Really, this battle is quite easy; the main purpose
of it is just to give you a chance to play as Delita :)
BATTLE TROPHIES: None
--Battle 21: Lionel Castle Oratory--
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, 4 others
ENEMY FORCES: Cuchulainn [The Impure]
I wouldn't recommend deploying magic-users in this battle; they're not much
help. Spread out your characters in your initial deployment, as Cuchulainn
will begin the battle by casting Nightmare, which will put Sleep and/or Doom
on you. Use the Esuna spell to wake up the sleeping characters if you have it
available; otherwise, try using weak physical attacks (e.g. Stone) to wake them
up. Doom will cause your character to KO when the countdown finishes. There's
no way to remove it, so just revive the characters after they're KOed.
Don't bother healing your characters, since Cuchulainn is likely to kill them
in one hit no matter how much HP they have. But, do revive anybody who dies so
your forces don't get too depleted. Use hit-and-run tactics whenever possible.
Cuchulainn is immune to Disable, so Arm Shot will not work on him. (Leg Shot
does, however.) There's not really much strategy to this battle, just brute
force and some luck. If you happen to have the Lich summon spell already,
it'll do a lot of damage. Cuchulainn has between 450 and 500 HP.
BATTLE TROPHIES: None
%%%CHAPTER III: THE VALIANT%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00bs3
--Battle 22: Gollund--
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, Orran [guest], 4 others
ENEMY FORCES: Chemist (male) x2, Thief (female) x3, Orator (male) x1
The battlefield here is covered in snow, which restricts your movement. And
top of that, the buildings are steep. So, you'll want to deploy characters
with a good Jump or Move range, or equip accessories to boost it. Because you
start on the bottom and the enemy is on rooftops above you, guns and bows are
not too effective here (you can't hit the enemy from below). Instead, try
bringing Black Magick or the Dragoon's Jump attack. Finally, the enemy has
three Thieves that like to steal your equipment, so you may want to protect
your investments by equipping the Safeguard ability, which prevents steals.
Orran possess the Celestial Stasis spell, which will Disable, Stop, or
Immobilize at least half the enemy forces every time he casts it. However,
he's still vulnerable until he gets this spell off, and the enemy Chemists can
hit him from a distance with their guns. So, keep an eye on his HP.
From where you start the battle, move a healer character and another character
to the right and up the low steps. These characters will be in a good position
to heal Orran (with White Magick or Throw Items) if he needs it. You can also
cast Protect him on if he's relatively healthy to boost his defense. The rest
of your squad can go around the other side of the building to start fighting
the enemies there. The enemies will probably be no match for your forces; the
key is just to keep Orran from getting killed, since if he's KOed, you lose the
battled.
This battle is also a great opportunity to do some stealing! Both Chemists are
carrying Mythril Guns, which are 2 attack points stronger than the Romandan
Pistols you're toting. These are the best prize to steal. Additionally, you
can grab an Orichalcum Dirk (a good dagger) and Germinas Boots (boots that
boost both your move *and* jump) from the Orator. The Thieves may also carry
Jujitsu Gis and Main Gauche, although Main Gauches aren't as strong as the
Orichalcum Dirk. Especially later in the battle, when Orran may have paralyzed
lots of enemies, try to steal some of their gear if their can!
Orran's Counter Tackle will knock enemies off the roofs for extra damage, and
you can try this yourself with Rush. The Orator tends to stay on the highest
roof and may be tough to reach, but you should be able to jump up there using
the "steps" on the right side of the roof. At that point, you can attack him
while on the roof or Rush him off the roof so your entire crew can attack him.
Or, just use Black Magick to attack from below.
BATTLE TROPHIES: 1500 gil, Battle Folio
--Battle 23: Lesalia Castle Postern--
YOUR FORCES:
1st Squad - Ramza, Alma [guest], 2 others
2nd Squad - 2 others
ENEMY FORCES: Zalmour [Celebrant], Knight (male) x3, Monk (female) x2
If you didn't spot the rest of your team right away, they're behind the gate.
Since none of the enemies here have much in the way of range attacks (just some
weak Geomancy spells), you needn't rush down to attack them. Instead, keep
your characters up on top of the castle and let the enemies come up to you.
The majority of them will come up the stairs, so position the bulk of your team
there. Because the enemies are often in clusters, magick (and geomancy) works
well on them. The railing blocks direct gun shots down onto the ground, but
if you move up on top of the railing, you should be able to shoot from there.
Standing on the railing also gives you a height advantage and makes it harder
for the enemies to hit you.
Alma will probably cast Aegis on Ramza once, which will make him super-powered
for a few turns. (Shell and Protect will reduce the damage he takes, Regen
heals him, and Haste gets him more turns!) Take advantage of that! After
that, she'll just thwack your characters with her Healing Staff to restore
their HP.
The annoying part of this battle is Zalmour, who can cast Cura and Arise to
heal his troops. When you have the chance, start attacking him. (You may
also want to try stealing his White Robe if you get a chance.) He'll go down
quickly, and, as soon as you KO him, you win the battle.
BATTLE TROPHIES: Ether
--Battle 24: Monastery Vaults - Second Level--
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, 4 others
ENEMY FORCES: Chemist (male) x1, Time Mage (male) x2, Dragoon (male) x3
This is your first encounter with enemy Dragoons. Their standard attack has
a two-tile range attack and is quite strong, and they can also use the Jump
attack. If one of them jumps at a character, try to move that character away
before the Dragoon lands (assuming you have a chance, that is). If you cast
Haste on your characters, you'll get more turns and hence a better chance of
being able to duck out of the way.
Since the Dragoons are so strong physically, you'll probably want to bring some
tough close-range fighters to fight back with. The Dragoons have a high evade
rate, so equipping the Concentration ability (Thief) on any characters that
have it is a good idea, as it ensures that your attacks never miss. Also, if
your fighters have Fire Shields or Ice Shields equipped, remember that casting
a fire or blizzard spell on the group will both damage the enemy Dragoons and
heal any characters with the appropriate shield -- it's good for close-quarters
fighting!
Take out the enemy Chemist so he can't heal the enemies, but save the Time
Mages for last. Pretty much all they'll do is cast Haste. If you have the
chance, though, position one of your characters next to the character getting
the Haste, as this allows you to
BATTLE TROPHIES: Battle Folio
--Battle 25: Monastery Vaults - Third Level--
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, 4 others
ENEMY FORCES: Isilud [Nightblade], Knight (male) x2, Archer (male) x2,
Summoner (male) x1
Your first order of business in this maze-like level is to send one or two
characters down the hall to kill the Summoner -- used ranged attacks to take
him out quickly before he can hit you with any Summoners. After the Summoner,
go after the archer that will have come up behind him.
At this time Isilud and his gang will be nearing you from behind. You'll want
to get up on top of the bookshelves to fight him on the same level. If you
have a Jump statistic of at least 5 (you can increase with the Spiked Boots or
Germinas Boots), you can jump directly on top of the shelves; otherwise, you'll
have to use the stairs in the corner. The stairs can get a little crowded, so
being able to jump up is helpful.
Watch out; Isilud has the Dragoon's Jump attack has an incredibly long jump
range. Haste is useful to avoid it. His plain sword attack is strong too, and
he can also counterattack. He also has Safeguard, so you can't steal or break
his sword or other equipment. Just ignore the other guys and attack Isilud.
The Mythril Gun and Agrias's Holy Sword techniques are both quite effective
here, and you can also use your own Jump attacks if you've got a Dragoon.
When Isilud drops to critical HP, he'll teleport away and you win.
BATTLE TROPHIES: Guardian Bracelet
--Battle 26: Monastery Vaults - First Level--
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, 4 others
ENEMY FORCES: Wiegraf [White Knight], Knight (female) x2, Archer (female) x2,
Black Mage (female) x1
Spread your characters out in your initial deployment since Wiegraf is almost
guaranteed to hit your group with a Judgment Blade before you have a chance to
move.
The tall wall divides this level into two halves -- the half where you start
and the half where the bad guys start, with a small doorway in the middle. But
Wiegraf will come running through to your side right away. Just go after
Wiegraf; most of his followers are irrelevant, as they probably won't even
reach you before Wiegraf goes down. The Archers can shoot through the doorway
from the other side, though, so Archer's Bane may be helpful.
As before, Wiegraf will use Judgment Blade a lot. Judgment Blade also randomly
casts Stop on you sometimes, but you protect yourself from that by equipping
Jade Armlets. (The armlets won't stop you from taking HP damage from Judgment
Blade, though.) Focus your attacks on Wiegraf. If you can't kill him in two
or so rounds, the other enemies will show up and you're in trouble. Wiegraf
must be knocked down to 0 HP before you win.
BATTLE TROPHIES: 2500 gil
--Battle 27: Zeklaus Desert--
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, Luso [guest], 4 others
ENEMY FORCES: Behemoth x3, Behemoth King x2, Dark Behemoth x1
It's Behemoth city! When the formation screen appears, deploy all your
characters towards the upper-left corner of the available purple tiles. This
will start your characters as close to Luso as possible.
Luso can hold his own pretty well -- he comes with an Icebrand sword, which is
better than anything sold in stores at this point. Still, if he gets
surrounded by Behemoths, he'll get killed and you'll lose the battle, so move a
healer into position ASAP. (Casting the Protect spell on him or your other
characters is also a good idea, as the Behemoths only use physical attacks.)
If you move some other fighters down into the canyon with the Behemoths, you'll
keep them from ganging up on any one particular character. Remember that all
the Behemoths, being monsters, can counterattack, so Luso can take damage
pretty quickly fighting against them. (Fortunately, he's smart enough to
flee if his HP drops to critical, but even if it's not yet critical, a series
of behemoth attacks could take him out before he has a chance to move!)
Try to take out a few of the purple "regular" Behemoths quickly, before the
Behemoth Kings and Dark Behemoth have a chance to make it over to you. Those
are lot stronger and will take several attacks to kill. Agrias's Holy Sword
techniques are good for taking out the monsters and can't be counterattacked.
If you have an Orator or someone else with Speechcraft and Beast Tongue, it's
definitely worth trying to recruit some of the monsters here. If you can turn
one Traitor and keep it alive through the battle, it'll join your squad. None
of these monsters are ones you could otherwise recruit at this point in the
game, and the Behemoth King and Dark Behemoth are particularly rare. If you
get any of them, you can use them to breed more behemoths and poach them for
rare items! (Or, Luso automatically poaches any enemy he kills, so he if kills
any of the behemoths here, you should also get something good.)
BATTLE TROPHIES: None
--Battle 28: Grogh Heights--
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, 4 others
ENEMY FORCES: Squire (male) x2, Chemist (male) x2, Archer (male) x1,
Thief (female) x1
This is a fairly straightforward battle. The main challenges are the Thief,
who of course can steal your gear, and the Chemists, who both have guns and a
humongous range from their vantage point atop the heights. You'll want to
target the Chemists first. Fire back with your own guns, or have Mustadio use
his Arm Shot from a distance to Disable them.
The small passes between the cliffs can be a bit of a choke point as you try to
climb up. If you boost your Jump height with accessories and agile jobs, that
will help you scale the heights quickly. On the other hand, if the enemies
do get bunched up in a row in a pass, firing one of Agrias's Divine Ruination
skills (if you have it) will decimate them.
Because this is a fairly easy battle, it's a good chance to build up your
weaker characters if you want. I suppose you could also try letting the
enemies decay into crystals or chests, but these guys don't really have much
worth taking. (Hey, they're deserters, what do you expect?)
BATTLE TROPHIES: Mythril Gun
--Battle 29: Yardrow--
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, Rapha [guest], 4 others
ENEMY FORCES: Marach [Netherseer], Summoner (female) x2, Ninja (male) x3
This is another protect-the-guest battle, so deploy somebody with healing
abilities or you're toast. In fact, bringing two might not be a bad idea!
Move a character into the gateway to block it prevent the enemies from going
after Rapha. At the start of the battle, one of the Ninjas will probably give
himself an unfair height advantage by climbing up on the roof and throwing
weapons at you. Use guns or magick to take him out quickly.
The Ninjas here can hit really hard since they get two attacks. Make them your
first target, and stay out of hand-to-hand range when possible. Even at a
distance, the Ninjas can still Throw weapons at you, but this attack isn't
nearly as strong. As at Grogh Heights, the gate into the city is a bit of a
choke point, which means it's a great opportunity to fire some Divine
Ruinations and hit several enemies at once.
If you've got anybody with an attack that can go through the wall (i.e., magick
or some monster skills), you can try to kill the Summoners that way. The
enemies start pretty bunched up inside, so this can be a good way of attacking
more than one enemy at a time. Otherwise you'll have to go through the Ninjas
at the gate. As usual, watch what areas the Summoners are targeting so you can
try to keep your team split up and out of the way.
Watch out for Rapha's skills -- they target a 3x3 square of the map and hit
random tiles, making them as likely to hit you as the bad guys. (Marach's
skills do the same, which fortunately means he's pretty unlikely to
actually hit you ... and even if they do, they do very little damage.)
Although Marach teleports away when you defeat him, you must defeat ALL the
enemies to win here. Since Marach is really the least threatening guy here,
save him for last.
BATTLE TROPHIES: 2000 gil, Yagyu Darkrood, Holy Water
--Battle 30: Zeltennia Castle--
YOUR FORCES: Delita, Ovelia [guest]
ENEMY FORCES: Ninja (male) x1, Ninja (female) x1
It's just Delita and Ovelia against two Ninjas. This should be a cinch;
although the Ninjas can hit hard, Delita and Ovelia have enough HP to survive
a few attacks, and one Holy Sword technique should be enough to take out each
ninja.
BATTLE TROPHIES: None
--Battle 31: The Yuguewood--
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, Rapha [guest], 4 others
ENEMY FORCES: Black Mage (male, undead) x2, Time Mage (female, undead) x2,
Ghoul x1, Ghast x1, Revenant x1
Every enemy here is undead, including the humans. After you KO them, when
their counter runs out, they may REVIVE instead of turning into a crystal!
This means that, after you KO the first enemy, you have to hustle to finish off
the rest before the first ones start reviving again.
Fortunately, there's an easier way. Just use Mustadio's Seal Evil skill, which
turns any undead enemy into stone and prevents them from resurrecting :) (plus
it almost always hits!)
Since the enemies are undead, Cure spells and other healing abilities (e.g.
items and Chakra) will do quite a bit of damage to them while simultaneously
healing any nearby allies. You can even strike them with the Healing Staff!
Summon spells also work well, as the enemies are usually packed together. The
two Black Mages are your toughest opponents, so take them out first. The Time
Mages are a bit of a pain too, since they can cast Slow or Immobilize on you.
You can prevent the former by equipping Diamond Bracelets and the later by
equipping Guardian Bracelets. For your close-range fighters, defense against
Immobilize is the most important, but for your gunners and magick users, being
Immobilized may not be such a problem. They have enough range that they can
still attack even if they're rooted in one spot, so you might be better off
giving them Diamond Bracelets instead.
Rapha is just an "ordinary" guest here, so it doesn't matter if she gets KOed.
BATTLE TROPHIES: Phoenix Down x2
--Battle 32: Riovanes Castle Gate--
YOUR FORCES:
1st Squad - Ramza, Rapha [guest], 1 other
2nd Squad - 3 others
ENEMY FORCES: Marach [Netherseer], Knight (male) x3, Archer (female) x3
Deploy another fast character with Ramza, but make sure both are well-armored.
You'll want the two of them to break through to the enemy back line quickly and
take out the Archers. The second squad starts further from the battle, but
they can bring up the rear and keep fighting the Knights.
You'll face a constain rain of arrows from the enemy Archers atop the gates, so
equipping Archer's Bane on as many characters as possible will be a big help.
If you have the Golem summon, cast that at the beginning of the battle; it will
temporarily absorb some of the physical damage you receive. The Mystic ability
Defense Boost would also be helpful here. Equipping shields and capes will
also boost your block rate.
Rafa is here as a guest and Marach as an enemy. If EITHER of them is reduced
to critical HP, they will BOTH teleport away. You want to be rid of them;
Marach's pole attack is reasonably strong, and he tends to block your route up
to the Archers. So, a simple strategy is to de-equip all of Rafa's armor
before the battle and then take her out with one attack. This will get Marach
out of the way and let you get to the Archers more easily.
Take out the enemy Knight on the bridge to keep him from blocking your path,
then start hurrying up the steps. You want to get to the enemy Archers as
quickly as possible. (If you have the Dragoon ability Ignore Elevation, this
is easy-peasy, of course; you can just jump right up from the drawbridge.)
Spells that you can fire at them from a few tiles away will be helpful. If you
have Arithmeticks, you could try that as well.
Keep your close-range fighters in the rear so they can fend off the enemy
Knights as they approach. Since the enemy Knights have a fairly high evade
rate, Concentration may also be useful; alternately, you can just attack them
with Agrias's Holy Sword techniques, as they never miss. If you keep killing
off one of the Knights, the other ones may keep bringing him back with Phoenix
Down, thus wasting their turns. As long as you stay on level ground, the
Monk's Revive ability will be useful in bringing back your dead guys. Once the
Archers are dead, you can have all your characters mop up the remaining
Knights.
BATTLE TROPHIES: Elven Cloak, Hi-Potion, X-Potion
--Battle 33: Riovanes Castle Keep--
YOUR FORCES:
PHASE ONE: Ramza
PHASE TWO:
1st Squad - Ramza, 1 other
2nd Squad - 3 others
ENEMY FORCES:
PHASE ONE: Wiegraf [White Knight]
PHASE TWO: Belias [Gigas], Archaeodaemon x3
Despite his fearsome reputation, Wiegraf really isn't that difficult, if you
know how to beat him. For his first form, you have just Ramza. Make sure he
has the Auto-Potion ability and throw away all your Potions and Hi-Potions,
so that Ramza can use a X-Potion to heal himself whenever Wiegraf attacks
him. (Auto-Potion doesn't always activate, so if Ramza runs low on HP,
you can also use an X-Potion on yourself to heal.) Run from Wiegraf and keep
using the Tailwind ability to boost your speed. If you can, sucker Wiegraf
into going into the water and you'll be safe for a turn. Eventually (after you
keep using Tailwind), Ramza will get fast enough that he will get two turns in
a row frequently. Use these extra turns to get further away from Wiegraf (out
of the range of his Hallowed Bolt) and keep using Tailwind. You will reach a
point where you will not have to use all your moves to get out of Wiegraf's
range. Now instead of moving each turn, you can use Tailwind and then "Wait"
to get your next turn faster, allowing you to use Tailwind even more. Keep
going until Ramza's speed maxes out at 50. (You can check it by going to
Status in his menu.) Then use Focus a few times to build up your attack power.
Now start blasting at Wiegraf with a gun (and keep moving out of range when
necessary), or use whatever other weapon you have.
After Wiegraf drops to critical HP, he will disappear, only to return shortly
as Belias. Yup, it's not over yet. Your other characters will now show up,
but Wiegraf summons three Archaeodaemons. On his first turn, Belias will
start charging up a super-powerful Cyclops summon (200+ HP damage), and if
you survive that, he'll hit you with more summons. The trick here is that all
the speed and attack power bonuses from the first phase of the battle persist,
so Ramza can stand still and shoot away (or run up and attack if he has a
close-range weapon). You should be able to kill Belias before he gets to cast
Cyclops. If not, have your other guys start attacking Belias if they can get
close enough, or using Jump if they can't. You may still be able to beat him
even if Ramza doesn't take him down. The Lich summon spell also does a lot of
damage to Belias, if you can get it off. He has about 1100 HP and as soon as
you defeat him, the Archaeodaemons also disappear.
This is, of course, the most extreme strategy for fighting Wiegraf/Belias.
If Ramza is pretty strong, you can take out Belias with fewer moves and
certainly don't need to spend as much time boosting yourself during the
first round. A sufficiently strong Ramza (say, as a Ninja with Brawler
and a Bracer equipped) attacking Wiegraf and Belias from behind could even
do enough damage to punch out both of them without needing any boosts at all.
But if you're having trouble, the gun/Auto-Potion/Tailwind strategy almost
assures you of victory.
BATTLE TROPHIES: None
--Battle 34: Riovanes Castle Roof--
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, Rapha [guest], 3 others
ENEMY FORCES: Elmdore [Ark Knight], Celia [Assassin], Lettie [Assassin]
This battle is always really short: either you win fast or you lose fast! All
you have to do to win is reduce any one of the enemies to critical HP to win.
Problem is, Rapha loves to make suicide ruins at the bad guys, and if she gets
KOed, you lose.
Ramza always starts in a fixed location, regardless of where you place him
on the deployment screen. Deploy your other characters towards the top of the
deployment screen -- this will start them closer to the battle.
If Ramza is fast enough (e.g. Ninja + Green Beret + Hermes Shoes), he can
move first and immediately rush to attack either Celia or Lettie, and you
should be fine. (Elmdore is not a good target; he can use First Strike to
turn your attack into one of his own.) If Ramza isn't this quick, it's
entirely possible that Rapha will be killed before you ever get to move. When
you do finally get a chance to move, HEAL RAPHA. Putting Disarm on Rapha (via
Mustadio's Arm Shot) as soon as you can will guarantee that she will flee the
battle and try to stay out of harm's way. You can also try casting a Cure
spell on an empty square within Rapha's move range. Rapha will move to the
square to receive the spell and thus you can lure her away from the Assassins.
Send as many characters up to the roof as you can; if nothing else, they can
serve as decoys to draw attacks away from Rapha.
Celia and Lettie use ridiculous Subdual Arts abilities on you that have a
100% chance of either casting Stop on you or dealing an Instant KO. You can
guard against the former by equipping Jade Armlets and the latter with
Jujitsu Gis or Chameleon Robes. Alma's Barette, if equipped on a female
character, will also protect against both Stop *and* KO.
Concentrate all your attacks on a single character, since as soon as any one of
them drops to critical HP, you win. If any of your own characters get KOed,
don't bother trying to revive them; you're better off continuing to attack and
ending the battle quickly. Luck plays a big role here, especially if you're
not fast enough to get the first move.
If you deploy Luso in his Game Hunter job, he can learn Ultima should Celia or
Lettie cast it on him. (Ramza can't learn it until Chapter IV, but if you have
Luso learn it here, he can cast it on Ramza once you reach Chapter IV to teach
it to Ramza.) If you're fully equipped with Jujitsu Gis and Jade Armlets
(preventing Celia and Lettie from using their Stop or KO attacks on you), they
will almost always cast Ultima on their turns. Move Luso in range of whomever
they target to make sure he gets hit with the spell. It's not easy to learn
here since Rapha is so vulnerable, so you're probably better off skipping it--
you'll have another, easier opportunity to learn it in Chapter IV.
It's also possible to steal the Cachusha accessory from Celia and a Barette
from Lettie. Neither of these items is sold in stores, but, again, you do
also have other, easier methods for acquiring them, so it's probably not worth
bothering with them here.
BATTLE TROPHIES: None
%%%CHAPTER IV: IN THE NAME OF LOVE%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00bs4
--Battle 35: Dugeura Pass--
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, 4 others
ENEMY FORCES: Knight (male) x1, Archer (male) x1, Black Mage (male) x2,
Dragoon (male) x2
There's not a whole lot to say about this fight, because there's nothing here
you haven't seen before. Send one or two characters up to the top of the pass
while your other guys fight the main group of enemies. The Black Mages are
probably the most dangerous enemies here since their spells can do a lot of
damage. Hit them with Disable, Silence, or just move quickly across the
battlefield to take them out.
BATTLE TROPHIES: 3000 gil, Diamond Armor
--Battle 36: Bervenia--
YOUR FORCES:
1st Squad - Ramza, 2 others
2nd Squad - 2 others
ENEMY FORCES: Meliadoul [Divine Knight], Archer (female) x2,
Summoner (female) x2, Ninja (female) x1
An enemy Ninja will immediately move down to attack the second squad. Deploy a
reasonably strong fighter in the front line of the second squad so you can take
her out quickly. Placing your slower characters in the first squad is a good
idea as they start closer to the bulk of the battle.
In general, Dragoons are quite helpful on this level, since there are steep
building walls--Jump and Ignore Elevation (if you have it) will let you attack
enemies at a higher level. Since there are enemy Archers at the very top
raining arrows down on you, Archer's Bane or shields may be helpful.
Deploy fast and/or shooting characters in the second squad, and fighters in the
first squad.
While it's tempting to rush the enemies here, you don't want to scale the city
TOO quickly, or you may get surrounded and cut off from your healing.
Additionally, if you don't go up too fast, you may be able to lure Meliadoul
It's probably a good idea to attack the Summoners first, since their spells can
do a lot of damage. Be careful about taking out the Summoner on the left side
of the map, though. The crate there is needed for less agile characters to
climb up the city ramparts, and if you KO her while she's standing on the box,
it can obstruct the route up, making it slow going for some characters.
Meliadoul uses Crush skills that will shatter your equipment and do quite a
bit of damage. Equipping the Chemist ability Safeguard will protect against
this (especially important if you've got rare gear you don't want to lose), as
well as rendering you immune to the HP-damaging part of the skills as well!
So, equip this ability on as many character as possible.
Meliadoul also has the Defender knight's sword and Chantage, an accessory that
gives her a permanent Regen and Reraise. While you don't have to worry about
the Reraise, as KOing Meliadoul will end the battle, this is a GREAT accessory
to steal. The Defender is nice too. To steal from her, first try increasing
your success by raising your Speed (e.g. with Tailwind) or lowering Meliadoul's
(with Rend Speed, or putting Slow/Stop on her). Stealing from the side or
behind will have a higher success rate. It may take a lot of stealing attempts
before you succeed, so if you're serious about stealing, wipe out the other
enemies first. (The Chantage is worth the effort!) If you're planning on
stealing both the Defender and Chantage, swipe the Defender first as this
reduces her attack power and prevents her from using her Crush skills.
If you don't care to steal, or once you've gotten the goods, you can just
rush Meliadoul. Spread your characters out to avoid taking too much damage
from the summon spells.
BATTLE TROPHIES: Jade Armlet, Remedy x2
--Battle 37: Finnath Creek--
YOUR FORCES:
1st Squad - Ramza, 2 others
2nd Squad - 2 others
ENEMY FORCES: Random chocobos and pigs
When deploying characters, don't put anybody on the solitary square in the
second squad; it's in the middle of the water.
On this level, you'll face a random assortment of chocobos and possibly some
Pig. You may want to bring an Orator because if a Pig shows up, it's
definitely worth recruiting. Although it's no good in a battle, you can use it
to breed the various pig-class monsters, all of which can be poached for great
items.
This battle can be annoying because the regular yellow Chocobos will keep using
Choco Cure to heal themselves. One strategy is to just use attacks that will
defeat the Chocobos outright by turning them to stone or instantly KOing them
-- then it doesn't matter how much HP they have! If you have Beowulf, his
Break attacks works great; you could use the Black Mage's Death or the Oracle's
Induration. Agrias's Northswain's Strike occasionally does an instant KO too,
but fairly infrequently.
If you don't have any petrification or instant-KO attacks, the best strategy is
to concentrate on one Chocobo at a time. Since the Red Chocobos will bombard
you with Choco Meteor for fairly big damage, you'll probably want to kill them
first. (Red Chocobos also make good targets for poaching; you usually receive
a Barette from them.)
As annoying as the Choco Cures can be, this level still shouldn't be too
difficult. The Ninja ability Waterwalking, the Feather Boots, and the Time
Mage ability Levitate will all make it easier to navigate the watery terrain
here.
BATTLE TROPHIES: None
--Battle 38: Outlying Church--
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, Delita [guest], 4 others
ENEMY FORCES: Zalmour [Celebrant], Knight (male) x3, Oracle (male) x2
Delita teams up with Ramza as a guest in this battle. Without him, this might
be a tough battle, but with him, it's a pushover, since his Holy Sword
techniques are even stronger than Agrias's. Just be sure not to stand between
Delita and the enemies or YOU'LL get hit too when he uses Divine Ruination!
Zalmour stands atop the church and uses Curaga to heal his followers. A nice
trick is to stand next to the guys that Zalmour is going to cast Curaga on (you
can find out in the AT list; just click on Zalmour's name) for free healing.
Ignore Elevation or a Jump attack with high vertical range can be useful for
attacking enemies on higher levels, but they're far from critical--Delita can
pretty much kill all the enemies on his own! Zalmour doesn't have anything
worth stealing, either, so just thrash him and move on.
BATTLE TROPHIES: Angel Ring
--Battle 39: Beddha Sandwaste--
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, 4 others
ENEMY FORCES: Barich [Machinist], Knight (male) x2, Archer (male) x2,
Black Mage (male) x2
You start this battle with all your characters poisoned, even if you equip
accessories guarding against poison! Bringing somebody with the Esuna spell
may be helpful to de-poison yourself quickly. You can also use the Lifefont
ability, Chantage accessory, or Dragonheart ability to offset the HP losses
from the poison.
Barich has all of Mustadio's abilities, which means he can easily Immobilize
or Disable you. Esuna or the Monk ability Purification will also clear these
up, though Remedies will NOT. (Purification is especially effective since it
activates immediately and has a good hit rate.) Barich also has a Glacial Gun,
which shoots ice spells at you. Equipping White Robes here is a good idea, as
it will reduce the damage from the Glacial Gun and the Black Mage in the back.
Ice Shields would render you completely immune to the Glacial Gun ... but if
you're immune, Barich will just use Arm Shot and Leg Shot instead, which is
WORSE, so that's probably a bad strategy.
Since the battle ends when Barich is KOed, the best tactic is probably just to
rush him. Barich often tends to retreat into the back of the battlefield,
though, so throw an Immobilize of your own on him as soon as you can to keep
him in place. (Slow or Stop will also work.) Then pound on him; you have to
reduce him all the way to 0 HP before the battle ends.
There's a Black Mage in the back casting powerful -ja spells at you. Equipping
Aegis Shields and White Robes may be a good idea to protect against his spells.
Or, use Magick Counter to give him back what you're getting.
You may also want to try stealing from Barich. This is your first chance to
snag a Glacial Gun, which can't be bought in stores, though you'll find them
later. Barich's Lambent Hat and Luminous Robe are also nice, but you'll be
able to buy them shortly in stores. Stealing the Glacial Gun takes away his
range attack, but he can still Immobilize and Disable you at close range with
his punches.
BATTLE TROPHIES: 5000 gil
--Battle 40: Fort Besselat - South Wall--
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, 4 others
ENEMY FORCES: Knight (male) x3, Archer (male) x2, Thief (male) x1,
Ninja (male) x1
Leave behind the magic-users behind unless they have Equip Heavy Armor or some
good defensive abilities; they'll get killed easily.
Split up your characters and attack the side walls on each side. Get up on top
as soon as you can; it's very advantageous position. This works especially
well if you've got archers or gunners -- station them atop the walls, don't
move (so their CT gauge fills faster), and just shoot at the enemies. Watch
out for the Thief, who might -- take
Don't worry about the Knights initially. You should be able to get up on top
of the walls before the Knights can reach you, and once you're up there, you've
got a definite height advantage in taking them out.
BATTLE TROPHIES: Circlet
--Battle 40: Fort Besselat - North Wall--
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, 4 others
ENEMY FORCES: Monk (male) x1, Archer (male) x2, Summoner (male) x1,
Dragoon (male) x2
There are high walls on this level, which can make it tricky to navigate if you
don't have characters with a high Jump statistic. Characters who can't jump
directly over the first wall will have to cross one-by-one using the "box" in
front of it. This can be time-consuming, especially when you're suffering the
summons and arrows of the enemy forces. (Archer's Bane is, of course, helpful
in defending against the latter.)
In particular, there's a Summoner tucked away behind the first wall who will
bombard you with some nasty summons (like Leviathan). Get a character over
the initial wall ASAP to take him out. Even if you can just weaken him to
critical HP, he'll probably start casting Faerie to heal himself instead of
attacking you. You can also try Arithmeticks as a way of attacking enemies on
the far side of the wall.
A lone Monk starts out on the ground near you. If you can get your party over
the wall quickly, you can postpone having to deal with him. Otherwise, you'll
have to take out him quickly so he's not attacking your back. (Or, just throw
an Immobilize on him so he can't catch up with you.)
Once the Summoner is taken out, you can split up your characters. Have the
ones who can easily scale heights climb up the tower to take out the Archers,
while the others finish up the Dragoons on the ground.
BATTLE TROPHIES: Carabineer Mail
--Battle 41: Fort Besselat Sluice--
YOUR FORCES:
1st Squad - Ramza, 2 others
2nd Squad - 2 others
ENEMY FORCES: Knight (male) x4, Black Mage (male) x2, Archer (male) x2
Split up your characters and go up the paths. Because the enemies have such a
height advantage, guns are not so good here; it's hard to get a clear shot.
Jump attacks, on the other hand, are quite useful. A fun trick to do is stand
on the steps or below the dam wall and use Jump attacks on the stationary
Knights. As long as none of your other characters gets close to them, the
Knights won't move and will just sit there while you Jump on them. The Black
Mages have some strong spells, so you may want to target them first, though.
Since two of the Knights are pretty stationary, this is a good chance to let
the other KOed enemies decay into crystals/chests for loot (and additional
kills, if you're trying to unlock the Dark Knight job). You could even bring
a weaker character or two and attack and heal each other to build up EXP or
JP, if you want (though it's hardly necessary).
Unlike the PSone version, you don't need to do anything with any switches to
clear this level. Just take out all the enemies and the battle ends.
BATTLE TROPHIES: None
--Battle 42: Mount Germinas--
YOUR FORCES:
1st Squad - Ramza, 2 others
2nd Squad - 2 others
ENEMY FORCES: Archer (male) x3, Thief (male) x2, Ninja (male) x1
This is the first time you get to use your new buddy Orlandeau. For a good
taste of his power, deploy him in squad 1. Move him up the mountain as far
as he can and then use Shadowblade on the Ninja leader. Bang, he's dead. You
almost have to feel sorry for the poor bandits... almost. Heh, heh. With
Shadowblade you can KO a fully healthy bad guy each turn just with Orlandeau
and also refill Orlandeau's own HP by 270 or so.
There are a pair of thieves in this battle, so either take them out quickly
or equip Safeguard to keep them from nabbing your stuff. You don't want to
lose any rare items to them!
The Archer that starts in the back corner is carrying an Artemis Bow, a strong
bow, which you might want to steal. But if you don't, there's plenty more (in
fact, an infinite supply from random battles) that you can get later. If you
DO want to steal the bow, a good strategy for it is to kill off all the other
enemies and then surround the Archers with your characters, blocking him from
moving. Since bows can't be used against adjacent tiles, he can't attack you,
and you can just stand there and attempt steals 'til you get the bow.
This map also contains the Invisibility Cloak, although it's not necessary to
claim it now. To get the cloak, put the Treasure Hunter ability and move to
the very top of the peak. The top of the peak forms sort of an "L" shape; the
tile holding the Cloak is the one between the two "legs" of the L:
___
/ \
/ X \
--/ \--
When you land on this tile, you'll receive either an Ether or the Cloak; your
chance of getting the Cloak goes up the lower your Bravery. (You only get to
pick up the item once, so if you get the Ether, you can no longer get the
Cloak; you'll have to reset the game and try again.) You can also pick up the
cloak in any random battles at this location, though, so it's by no means
necessary to acquire it during the story battle.
BATTLE TROPHIES: 7700 gil, Winged Boots, Germinas Boots
--Battle 43: Lake Poescas--
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, 4 others
ENEMY FORCES: Archer (male) x2, Mystic (male) x1, Summoner (female) x1,
Revenant x2
This is a really easy battle. Use Mustadio and/or Balthier's Seal Evil ability
and you can gun down each of the Revenants in one shot. (You can also use cure
spells against them, as always.) Magick and Dragoons will also be helpful for
attacking the enemies atop the wooden platform. They're undead, too, so you
can use Seal Evil on them as well.
Once you get on top of the platform, watch out for the enemy's Counter Tackles.
They can knock your characters off the platform, which will put you back out of
range AND do a fair amount of damage. Just stay away from the edge and you
should be fine. (You can check which enemy units do and don't have Counter
Tackle by viewing their status screen.
The only thing tricky about this level is that the undead humans will keep
coming back to life if you don't finish off the rest of the enemy party in
time--but, again, Seal Evil will prevent this.
Both the archers have Artemis Bows if you're in the mood for a little stealing.
BATTLE TROPHIES: Phoenix Down x2
--Battle 44: Limberry Castle Gate--
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, 4 others
ENEMY FORCES: Celia [Assassin], Lettie [Assassin], Reaver x4
This battle looks hard at first, but it's not. All you have to do is weaken
Celia or Lettie to critical HP and the battle will immediately end.
The Reavers will only use Bio spells, which don't do all that much damage, so
your main threat is Celia and Lettie. Their Subdual Arts skills can hit with
you a 100% KO or Stop, and they also have a 100% Charm against male characters.
The Charm is the worst of these since it turns your characters actively against
the rest of your team, so give your male characters Nu Khai Armbands to
immunize them, or just deploy all female characters. Pairing a Jujitsu Gi with
a Jade Armlet will protect you against both KO and Stop; if you have Barettes
or Ribbons, you can use those too. If you have Construct 8 on your roster,
it's completely immune to status changes and is quite useful here.
Because this battle is fairly easy, it's your best chance to learn Ultima. You
can learn this spell if Ramza is a Squire or Luso is a Game Hunter and Celia or
Lettie casts the spell on him. If Ramza is protected against KO and Stop
(from equipping a Jujitsu Gi and a Jade Armlet), Celia is almost guaranteed to
cast the spell on him on her first round.
Once you get Ultima, just have your main group gang up on Lettie to quickly end
the battle. A few sword techniques and/or Construct 8's Dispose should do the
trick. You can completely ignore the Reavers. Since this battle is so easy to
end quickly, your best defense is a good offense. Even if one or two allies
gets KOed, don't bother reviving them. (Since Ramza starts stranded from your
main team, it's pretty likely him for him to be KOed.) Just finish off Lettie
and you'll be done in no time at all.
BATTLE TROPHIES: Echo Herbs
--Battle 45: Limberry Castle Keep--
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, 4 others
ENEMY FORCES: Elmdore [Ark Knight], Celia [Assassin], Lettie [Assassin]
It's just your team versus Elmdore, Celia, and Lettie. Celia and Lettie have
the same abilities as before. As long as you're equipped with Jujitsu Gis and
Jade Armlets (or other equipment that protects you against KO/Stop), they'll
mostly just do Ultima, which isn't too bad. If you "kill" either of them, they
will turn into Ultima Demons, which are stronger, so leave them be.
Elmdore is even tougher than his underlings; he has an 100% working teleport to
any square and does big damage to a wide area with his Muramasa Iaido. Worse,
he has Shirahadori, which gives him a high evade rate against a wide range of
physical attacks, even guns.
First, spread out your characters to try to minimize how much his Iaido can
hurt your team. Then, attack Elmdore with things he *can't* dodge. Sword
techniques are great, as is Construct 8's Dispose, if you have him. You can
also use Magick and Arithmeticks, or, in a pinch, a Dual Wielded attack, since
he can only block one of the hits. Other physical attacks are nearly useless.
Also, whenever Celia or Lettie starts casting Ultima, have the targeted
character stand next to Elmdore. (Check the Turn List in case you didn't catch
who the target is.) This will cause the Ultima to spill over and hit Elmdore
for a fair amount of damage (100-200 HP), a nice way of getting in some extra
damage against him.
You need only reduce Elmdore to critical HP to end the battle.
If you didn't learn Ultima during the prior battle, you can also learn it here.
Note: In the North American PSone release, you could steal all of Elmdore's
powerful Genji equipment. This is no longer possible (you can't steal from
him at all), so don't even try!
BATTLE TROPHIES: None
--Battle 46: Limberry Castle Inner Court--
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, 4 others
ENEMY FORCES: Argath [Deathknight], Ultima Demon x5
Argath himself can't do much damage, but his Ultima Demons can cast some really
powerful magic. Especially Argath takes a while to wear down, you'll need to
take out the Demons first. Fortunately, they're pretty slow and don't have
much HP, so chances are good you can take out one or two before they can even
move. The large gap in the middle of the stage can make it hard to reach the
Ultima Demons in the rear, so either bring characters with Ignore Elevation or
just use a variety of long-range attacks (guns, Arithmeticks, Summons, Jump,
Dispose, etc.)
Once you've finished off all the demons, you can attack Argath. He comes
equipped with Mirror Mail, which reflects most magick. (The -ja Black Magick
spells, Ultima, Meteor, and summons all still work, though.) He also has
Safeguard, so Orlandeau's Crush skills won't work against him, but other sword
skills will. Fortunately, Argath's own attacks are quite weak, but his
constant use of Shadowblade keeps healing him. As long as your whole team is
attacking him, though, you'll be able to deal way more damage than he can
recover.
The really aggravating part is Argath's Critical: Recover HP reaction ability,
which has a chance of completely restoring his HP when you reduce his HP to
critical. (And since he has a fairly high Bravery stat, it's likely to
trigger!)
Fortunately, there's also an easy way to stop this. Just having Mustadio or
Balthier keep using Arm Shot on him until you put Disable on him. (Beowulf's
Disable also works ... the Mystic Art Hesitation does *not*, since the Mirror
Mail will reflect it.) Being Disabled will prevent him from using his reaction
ability (as well as from restoring his HP with Shadowblade), and you can easily
pound him into oblivion before Disable wears off.
If for some reason this isn't an option (e.g. none of Mustadio, Balthier, and
Beowulf is in your party), your best bet is to reduce his HP fairly low (to
about 100 or so) but not yet put him in Critical status. Then, use one very
strong attack against him (e.g., an Orlandeau sword technique) to KO him
without ever putting him in critical status.
BATTLE TROPHIES: None
--Battle 47: Limberry Castle Undercroft--
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, Meliadoul [guest], 4 others
ENEMY FORCES: Zalera [Death Seraph], Knight (male) x2, Skeleton x1,
Bonesnatch x1, Skeletal Fiend x1
Deploy Mustadio and/or Balthier and use Seal Evil to quickly petrify the two
undead Knights. The various skeletons are not really worth bothering with;
Meliadoul can take them out. Just go after Zalera.
Zalera's main attack is Nightmare, which inflicts Sleep and Doom on a small
group of people. Equipping Protect Rings will guard against both of these.
Zalera also likes to use Bind (causes Stop on a small group) and Flareja, a
strong attack spell. One strategy here is to leave one character vulnerable to
Sleep to sucker Zalera into casting Nightmare. If you then wake the character
up (use Purification or a weak attack), Zalera will probably just keep casting
Nightmare over and over. Construct 8 is also quite useful here since it is
inherently immune to Stop, Sleep, and magick.
Attack Zalera with Lich, Divine Ruination, and Shadowblade. He has about 1100
HP.
BATTLE TROPHIES: None
--Battle 48 (optional): Dorter--
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, Meliadoul [guest], 3 others
ENEMY FORCES: Cletienne [Sorceror], Black Mage (female) x1, Time Mage (female)
x1, Summoner (female) x2
This is the same battlefield as you saw at the beginning of Chapter II. The
enemies here are all magick-users, so there's no value in reaction abilities or
armor that defend against physical attacks (e.g. Counter or Shirahadori).
Instead, equip Aegis Shields, which have a high magick block rate, and
abilities like Magick Counter. And, if you have Construct 8, it's basically
invulnerable in this battle since it's immune to magic.
You'll probably want to take out the Summoners first; they're close by and
you'll want to stop them from hitting you with Summons. The Time Mages, on the
other hand, can be ignored.
Cletienne has an array of strong offensive and defensive spells, plus he can
use Magick Counter to throw your spells back at him. If you want to avoid
this, Guns and Jump may be your best bets for attacking him up on the roof.
(Magical guns, however, count as magick attacks that he can Magick Counter.)
Actually, he has little HP, so it's probably that it may be worth
As soon as he's KOed, you win the battle.
Cletienne has a Dragon Rod, a rare-ish rod, that you can steal. You needn't
get it here, though, as you can also steal one a few battles later or poach it.
Plus, the Dragon Rod is pretty crummy anyway.
BATTLE TROPHIES: None
--Battle 49: Eagrose Castle Keep--
YOUR FORCES:
1ST PHASE: Ramza, Zalbaag [guest], 4 others
2ND PHASE: Ramza, 4 others
ENEMY FORCES:
1ST PHASE: Dycedarg [Rune Knight], Knight (male) x5
2ND PHASE: Adrammelech [The Wroth]
Equipping Nu Khai Armbands before this battle is a good idea.
Use Agrias's, Orlandeau's, and Meliadoul's sword techniques to hit Dycedarg
from down below. (Construct 8's Dipose is also useful, but you may not want
to deploy it here since there's no way to protect it against Confusion.) In
particular, hitting Dycedarg with Crush Weapon will break his Defender sword
and prevent him from using any of his sword techniques against you. (You could
also try stealing the Defender if you want, but it's a little tricky -- using
Ignore Elevation to jump up to the top of the arch may be your best bet.)
It's quite likely that you can finish off Dycedarg before he has a chance to
move much of anywhere, but it's possible he'll start descending the stairs. If
he does, run under the arch and keep attacking him. He likes to use Hallowed
Bolt and Divine Ruination (if you haven't yet broken his sword); to avoid
these, don't put characters next to each other or on the same line of fire.
Zalbaag is likely to get KOed either way, but it doesn't matter as you don't
need to keep him alive. The enemy Knights can be safely ignored.
When Dycedarg is KOed, he'll return as Adrammelech. Everyone else will
disappear from the board (including Zalbaag), and the battle restarts. If
Adrammelech is still up on the arch, you can keep attacking him with sword
techniques, but after a character attacks, start moving your characters under
the archway so that you can keep hitting Adrammelech once he starts coming down
the steps.
Adrammelech uses the Befuddle spell to confuse you, but if you equipped Nu Khai
Armbands, you'll be immune to this. Note that Confusion is one of the few
status conditions that Construct 8 is NOT immune to. In fact, there's no way
to protect it from confusion, so you probably won't want to use it here.
Adrammelech is pretty slow, so you can probably get in quite a few licks--and
maybe even kill him--before he even has a chance to cast a spell. Like all
Lucavi, Adrammelech is vulnerable to Lich. He has 1500 HP.
BATTLE TROPHIES: None
--Battle 50: Mullonde Cathedral--
YOUR FORCES:
1st Squad - Ramza, 2 others
2nd Squad - 2 others
ENEMY FORCES: White Mage (male) x1, Summoner (male) x1, Orator (male) x2,
Geomancer (male) x2
If you have anyone with Ignore Elevation, deploy him or her in the first squad
and you can immediately jump up and attack the Summoner and White Mage, who are
the most annoying opponents. The rest of the squad will have to climb up the
steps.
The characters in the second squad will be battling against two Orators, so
giving them Earplug could be useful. Again, Ignore Elevation will help them
get atop the church quickly, although the steps are reasonably close by.
The Summoner has another Dragon Rod you can steal, if you didn't get one from
Cletienne and/or want a second one. But, again, it's not good for very much.
Honestly, this battle is pretty easy. It's noteworthy mostly because it's the
only story battle where the enemy has Geomancers :)
BATTLE TROPHIES: X-Potion
--Battle 51: Mullonde Cathedral Nave--
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, 4 others
ENEMY FORCES: Folmarv [Divine Knight], Loffrey [Divine Knight],
Cletienne [Sorceror]
Despite what the victory conditions screen says, all you have to do here is
KO any of one of the three Knights Templar and then they all will retreat.
Cletinne is the weakest, so just attack him. Loffrey and Folmarv have an
annoying habit of breaking your equipment, so Safeguard is probably a good idea
-- it both saves your equipment AND prevents you from taking damage from
the Crush attacks. Since you only need to KO one guy here, you can probably
finish this up quite quickly.
If you deploy Meliadoul, there will be some extra dialogue between her and
Folmarv on her first turn.
BATTLE TROPHIES: None
--Battle 52: Mullonde Cathedral Sanctuary--
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, 4 others
ENEMY FORCES: Zalbaag [Ark Knight], Archaeodaemon x2, Ultima Demon x1
The demons here are actually quite a bit more powerful than Zalbaag and use a
variety of strong magick attacks. So, unlike most boss battles, you're
probably better off killing at least two of the demons first, and *then* going
after Zalbaag.
Zalbaag frequently flees into a corner, plus he uses Lifefont to recover his
HP with each move. Hitting him with an Immobilize (e.g. from Leg Shot) will
stop both of these. In fact, if you can Immobilize him right away, you may be
able to just focus your attacks on him and finish him off before the demons
hit you with too magic. Physical attacks are not that effective against him
since he has Defense Boost, but he'll go down eventually ... and if you take
out the demons first, he can do very little to hurt you.
Zalbaag can (and probably will) turn your characters to vampires, but you can
cure this with Holy Water. Construct 8 is useful in this battle as it is
immune to vampirization (though the raw damage from the Vampire ability can
still hurt it) and has a very long range.
Ironically, if Zalbaag tries to vampirize a character who's already a vampire,
the Vampire attack will backfire and cause *Zalbaag* to turn into a vampire!
This will prevent him from recovering HP with Lifefont. But, the odds on this
are a bit too low to really bank on.
BATTLE TROPHIES: Elixir
--Battle 53: Monastery Vaults - Fourth Level--
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, 4 others
ENEMY FORCES: Knight (male) x3, Archer (male) x1, Monk (male) x2
Your first priority is to kill off the guys down on the floor on the other side
of the room, especially the Monks. Most range attacks will work from atop the
central "ridge" of books, and reasonably agile melee fighters can climb over
the ridge to reach the enemies. Characters who can't easily climb over the
ridge should just stand atop it -- there will be enemies coming that way soon
as well.
The Knights' behavior will depend on how quickly you advance. If you quickly
moved most of your team across the ridge, they'll probably descend under the
archway to fight you there. But if you still have some characters on the
higher levels, they may try to cross the narrow walkway up top. In this case,
they'll vulnerable to a Divine Ruination or Shockwave that can hit several of
them in a line. Unyielding Blade techniques (Meliadoul and Orlandeau) are also
useful against all the enemies here. Overall, this isn't a particularly hard
battle.
You can steal Yoichi's Bow, which is even stronger than the Artemis Bow, from
the Archer ... of course, since you're past the point of no return, there's no
need to bother with this unless someone in your current team can use it.
BATTLE TROPHIES: None
--Battle 54: Monastery Vaults - Fifth Level--
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, 4 others
ENEMY FORCES: Loffrey [Divine Knight], Black Mage (male) x2,
Time Mage (male) x1, Summoner (male) x2
Now it gets interesting. The enemy forces are magick-heavy here, so adjust
your defenses accordingly -- Aegis Shields are good, as is Magick Counter and
cloaks that give a good boost to your magick evade rate. Counter, Shirahadori,
and First Strike are totally pointless. Construct 8, being immune to magick,
is good to deploy if you have it--it won't be able to navigate the holes well,
but Dispose has such a long range that it doesn't need to travel very far!
The floor is laded with holes (the black spots) that impede your movement. If
you have Fly or Winged Boots, however, you can simply hover right across them.
You can also jump across the holes with a good jump rating. If you can't jump
across, there's a looping path around the outsides of the map that lets you
walk all the way, but it's slow and you'll keep getting hit by magick on the
way. Avoid this route if you can.
Deploying lots of characters with range attacks is useful as you can just blast
away regardless of the gaps in the floor. Loffrey's Save the Queen sword gives
him a permanent Protect spell that makes him slow to kill. So, try to KO the
other guys (especially the Summoners) first before you take on Loffrey.
Loffrey uses Unyielding Blade techniques to crush your gear, but equipping
Safeguard will both preventing him from breaking your equipment and spare you
from the HP damage. Speaking of Crushing, using Crush Weapon on Loffrey is a
great tactic; destroying his sword will remove his Protect as well as prevent
him from using his sword techniques. (You can also use Rend Weapon or steal
it.)
BATTLE TROPHIES: None
--Battle 55: The Necrohol of Mullonde--
YOUR FORCES:
1st Squad - Ramza, 2 others
2nd Squad - 2 others
ENEMY FORCES: Cletienne [Sorceror], Time Mage (male) x2, Ninja (male) x2,
Samurai (male) x2
The 2nd squad starts some distance away, so fill it with fast characters or
characters with long-range attacks.
Cletienne has really strong spells and a range of the whole battlefield. Since
he starts close to you, just forget the other enemies and rush him. If you can
pounce on him on quickly, you can probably to wrap this fight up very quickly.
Cletienne's Magick Boost reaction ability allows him to gain magick power when
you hit him. So, don't try to wear him down with weak attacks. Instead, try
only attack him with your strongest attacks so that you can take him out in as
a few hits as possible. Or, you can simply use MP-draining abilities--
Orlandeau's Duskblade works especially well--on Cletienne to take away all his
MP, so that he can't even use his magick.
BATTLE TROPHIES: None
--Battle 56: Lost Halidom--
YOUR FORCES:
1st Squad - Ramza, 2 others
2nd Squad - 2 others
ENEMY FORCES: Barich [Machinist], Chemist (male) x1, Dark Behemoth x1,
Hydra x1, Greater Hydra x1, Tiamat x1
This can be a tough fight. Barich and his crew start on a separate piece of
land from you. Barich and his Chemist can shoot at you from afar, but if you
jump over to his portion of the battlefield, his monsters will tear you to
shreds.
Barich, as before, will use Aimed Shot abilities to try to Immobilize and
Disable you, but this time, if you're equipped with Thief's Caps, you're immune
to this.
The second squad starts pretty far away from Barich. A good tactic may be to
fill the first squad with characters with medium-range attacks (e.g. sword
techniques). They should be able to move forward and target Barich across the
gap without having to jump over the chasm. Meanwhile, deploy characters with
long-range attacks such as guns, Arithmeticks, or a long-range Jump in the
second squad. On their first turns, have them move up towards the first squad
and start targeting Barich with their range attacks. If you completed the
Gollund Colliery quest, Beowulf and Construct 8 will both be of great use here
for their long-range attacks (Vengeance and Dispose, respectively). Barich may
try to hide behind his monsters (and/or the Chemist), in which case you'll have
to take them out first in order to shoot him. Unfortunately, Barich's own
Thief's Cap prevents you from Immobilzing HIM.
Barich's Hydras will usually spend a turn or two advancing along Barich's
portion of the battlefield without attacking you. After that, they'll fly over
and land on your side! At this point, you may want to jump over Barich's side
and start attacking him directly--if you've done enough to damage to him
already, you can probably take him out with a few attacks. (He does use
Lifefont to regenerate his HP, though.)
If you completed the Nelveska Temple and restored Reis to human form, you could
also try putting Reis in the second squad. Have her run up to the little
"bridge" connecting the two halves of the battlefield and use Dragon's Charm
to charm the enemy Tiamat. Not only will this prevent the Tiamat from
attacking you, it will turn it against Barich! However, it usually takes a
turn or two for the Tiamat to come within range, so this may not be the most
efficient strategy -- and you have to watch out for the Dark Behemoth in the
mean time!
BATTLE TROPHIES: None
--Battle 57: Airship Graveyard--
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, 4 others
ENEMY FORCES: Hashmal [Bringer of Order]
Hashmal's two main attacks are Bind, which puts Stop on a group of characters,
and Quake, a fairly powerful area attack spell. Of course, equipping Jade
Armlets will protect you against the former. Since completely protecting
yourself against Stop will cause him to JUST cast Quake, one strategy is to
leave one character unprotected against Stop as a decoy. Hashmal will probably
try to Stop him/her, buying your other characters time to attack. Using this
strategy, you can probably defeat him before casts more than one Quake (perhaps
before he casts ANY).
And, if you completed the Gollund Colliery quest, you have an ace up your
sleeve: Construct 8, who is immune to both magick and Stop!
Although Hashmal's spells are strong, with 5 of you versus 1 of him, you
shouldn't have too much trouble taking him down. Just rush him. As always,
the Lich spell is effective against him. He only has 1500 HP.
BATTLE TROPHIES: Ragnarok
--Battle 58: Airship Graveyard--
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, Alma [guest], 4 others
ENEMY FORCES:
1ST PHASE: Ultima [High Seraph], Ultima Demon x4
2ND PHASE: Ultima [Arch Seraph]
Be sure to deploy your best characters for this, the final battle. If you have
Beowulf and he's learned the Drain Spellblade, use him! Drain does a LOT of
damage to Ultima's second form. Lich is extremely effective as well.
Alma will fight as a guest in this battle. She starts off with only 1 HP, so
toss her an X-Potion or cure spell to keep her alive. She will first cast
Aegis on herself, then start casting on the rest of the team. Aegis includes
a number of useful buffs, so this is actually pretty helpful. Note that if
Ramza or Luso casts the Ultima spell on Alma, she can learn it. This is not
advised, however; you want her casting Aegis, which is quite a bit more useful!
(You can toss Alma an Ether or Hi-Ether if she starts running out of MP.)
The Ultima Demons can do more damage than Ultima, so try to defeat them first.
They don't have all that much HP, so you might even be able to take them out
with group attacks. If you're using Orlandeau, Shadowblade is also handy since
it restores his HP at the same time as doing damage.
Ultima has several different attacks. There's a physical attack, which is
fairly strong but otherwise nothing special, the Grand Cross spell, which
inflicts random status conditions, and an souped-up Ultima spell that is
still rather weak and slow to charge. Note that this Ultima spell has a
"friendly fire" effect and can damage Ultima's own units (and Ultima herself).
You can use this to your advantage; if you see her charging the spell up, move
the targetted unit close to some enemies and they'll take damage too. (You
can recognize Ultima because it's the only spell she charges up that shows
estimated HP damage in the preview -- Grand Cross is a status attack only.)
Ultima can also teleport around the battlefield, often putting her out of your
reach (which is another reason not to try killing her before the Demons).
If the battle drags on, the Ultima Demons you took out early on may start
turning into crystals. Grab these as soon as they appear. Ultima will try to
claim them, and, if she does, her HP will be completely restored!
It only takes about 1200 points of damage to defeat Ultima's first form. Of
course, like all good final bosses, Ultima has a second form that appears
after the first is defeated. This one has over 3000 HP (!), but it's probably
easier, since there won't be any Ultima Demons around to harass you. Attack
her with the aforementioned Drain attack (Beowulf), Lich, and sword techniques.
Fortunately, Ultima is pretty slow, and you have quite a bit of time to heal up
and attack between her moves, especially if Alma has been casting Haste on you
via Aegis. And, if Alma has been casting Aegis on your party, Ultima may well
waste her turns using Dispelja to remove the effects of Aegis, and not even
inflict any damage on you.
Again, Ultima teleports around the battlefield on each of her turns. If she
moves out of range, just wait in the center of the ship and on her next turn
she should move in range again.
Once you defeat Ultima's second form, you win the game. Congratulations!
%%%SUBQUEST BATTLE STRATEGIES%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00bssub
--Gollund Colliery Battle 1: Gollund Colliery Floor--
YOUR FORCES:
1st Squad - Ramza, 2 others
2nd Squad - Beowulf [guest], 2 others
ENEMY FORCES: Chemist (male) x5
For some reason, you are being attacked by a large band of Chemists. (Note
that there's one hidden under the staircase right next to where you start!)
Since the Chemists exclusively fight with guns, there's no need for any type of
magick defense. And since guns always have a 100% hit rate, boosting your
evade rate is pointless; leave behind the cloaks and shields and go for dual-
wielded or two-handed weapons and other accessories. Finally, close-range
reaction abilities like Counter are pointless; choose reaction abilities like
Auto-Potion or Adrenaline Rush that are useful at any range.
The key to this battle is to close the distance between you and the Summoners
as quickly as possible. Fast characters or those with a high Move rate will
be good for this. You can also use Arithmeticks, Summons, Jump, or your
own guns to hit from a distance.
Since the Chemists all have Items, they can keep healing themselves and
reviving their KOed comrades, which gets a little annoying. If you have
Orlandeau and/or Meliadoul, using their Crush abilities to break the Chemists'
armor will reduce their maximum HP and limit the amount they can heal
themselves. (Rend and Steal abilities work for this, too, but they often miss
and don't do any direct damage!) You can also use Summons to strike a whole
area and wipe all the critical-HP Chemists who have just been revived.
Reviving any of your *own* KOed can also be difficult--because the Chemists
have guns, they'll immediately shoot and KO any character with critical HP.
You'll need Arise to effectively revive characters. Of course, if a KOed
character's death counter is getting low, you may need to toss a Phoenix Down
or Raise on them anyway--even if they just KOed again, you've at least reset
their counter and saved them from permanent death.
BATTLE TROPHIES: Mythril Bow, Mythril Shield
--Gollund Colliery Battle 2: Gollund Colliery Slope--
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, Beowulf [guest], 4 others
ENEMY FORCES: Chemist (male) x1, Thief (male) x2, Behemoths x1,
Behemoth King x1
This battle has a similar setting as the previous, but there's only Chemist
and, instead, two Thieves and two behemoths. (The Behemoth King is hiding in
the cubby-hole behind the Thief near your start position.) With a more
conventional assortment of enemies, this should actually be a more
straightforward battle.
The Chemist here has a Glacial Gun that you may want to steal -- though if he
happens to start with the Maintenance ability, you're out of luck. He can do
quite a bit of damage from it and you can't reach him to attack right away, but
equipping Ice Shields will protect you from the damage. The Thief on the top
level has a tendency to just sit in the corner until you come very close,
making him a sitting duck for magick or Jump attacks.
Since the Behemoth King is a somewhat rare monster, you may also want to Entice
or Tame it onto your team. Alternately, Poach it and you'll score either an
Artemis Bow or a Cherche perfume.
BATTLE TROPHIES: Mythril Knife, Mythril Spear
--Gollund Colliery Battle 3: Gollund Colliery Ridge--
YOUR FORCES:
1st Squad - Ramza, Beowulf [guest], 2 others
2nd Squad - 2 others
ENEMY FORCES: Chemist (male) x2, Blue Dragon x2, Pig x1
This time, you're fighting two Chemists, two Blue Dragons, and a dancing pig
(huh?). The Pig is safe to leave 'til last; it can't do any harm. The Blue
Dragons, however, can and WILL harm you. Equipping Ice Shields will defend
against their Ice Breath attack, but even their physical attacks are strong.
The Blue Dragons are weak against fire, so use fire attacks for extra damage.
Do NOT use ice attacks (including Geomancy, the Icebrand, and the Glacial Gun),
as they will absorb the ice and gain HP! Special sword techniques are your
best offense (as usual).
If you Entice the Pig to your team, you can breed and Poach pigs for great
items, so this is a great opportunity to recruit one! If you already have a
Pig on the team, you can just axe this one.
BATTLE TROPHIES: Mythril Sword, Mythril Armor
--Gollund Colliery Battle 4: Gollund Coal Shaft--
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, Beowulf [guest], Reis [guest], 3 others
ENEMY FORCES: Syneugh [Archaeodemon], Plague Horror x3, Ochu x2
You need to keep Reis, the Holy Dragon, alive in this battle. Be sure to bring
someone who can heal her.
In order to get into Reis's area, you need to climb up onto the upper level and
pass through the narrow doorway. If you use jobs or accessories that get your
Jump score up to 4, you can jump directly up onto the ledge, which helps you
close the distance quickly. Otherwise, you'll have to take the long route up
by using the stairs behind where your party starts.
The Plague Horrors will turn you to stone or cast Doom on you if given the
chance, so kill them first -- both the Plague Horrors and Ochus are weak
against ice, so use ice attacks! If the enemies get lined up in the narrow
passage, use Shockwave (Monk) or Divine Ruination (Agrias/Orlandeau) to hit the
whole line of them. Reis will probably also rip into them with her Ice Breath.
After taking out the Plague Horrors, go after Syneugh. (Reis should be
able to handle the two Ochus.) Make sure to keep Reis healed. Syneugh uses
Gigaflare a lot, which hits a wide area but isn't nearly as powerful as it
looks (although it does do a number on the frame rate ^_^). It also hits his
own teammates if they happen to be standing in your vicinity! Syneugh doesn't
have very much HP; if you have Orlandeau, he might able to kill Syneugh in
one shot. This battle isn't really as tough as it may look -- just make
sure Reis stays healed!
BATTLE TROPHIES: None
--Balthier Subquest Battle: Dorter Slums--
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, Balthier [guest], 3 others
ENEMY FORCES: Archer (male) x3, White Mage (female) x1, Monk (male) x1,
Thief (male) x1
The bulk of your team will start away from Ramza and Balthier, so it may be
helpful to bring characters with a high Move range or guns, so that they can
join the fray quickly. You'll need to make sure Ramza doesn't get separated
and surrounded. Balthier won't fight on the frontlines, but he has a super-
strong gun and will assist from the rooftops. Unless Ramza gets surrounded,
this should be an easy battle.
BATTLE TROPHIES: None
--Nelveska Temple Battle: Nelveska Temple--
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, 4 others
ENEMY FORCES: Construct 7 [Automaton], Cockatrice x3, Hydra x2
The enemies here will hit you hard and fast. When deploying characters, put
Orlandeau on either the far left or far right. If you have another character
with an automatic Haste (e.g. from the Tynar Rouge), place her behind
Orlandeau. Together, they can probably KO one of the Hydras on the pillars
before it has a chance to move.
The Hydras will attack you first. Watch out for their Tri-Attack, which hits
both the unit in front of them as well any to either side. Try to kill off one
of them before the Cockatrices reach you. The Cockatrices have relatively
little HP, so you may be able to take them out with group attacks (e.g.
Hallowed Bolt). Since all the enemies are fairly close by, you often don't
need to move attack to them. Remember that not moving gives you your next turn
faster, so don't move unless you need here. Since you're getting assaulted
from all sides here, Orlandeau's Shadowblade attack is quite useful here -- it
both deals damage AND restores a lot of his HP, keeping him healthy.
Construct 7 will probably come out of its nook in the temple to attack you.
It attacks are brutal and can do 300+ damage to you. Try to thin out the
other monsters a little bit first so you won't be swarmed while you're wearing
Construct 7 down. Once you've taken out at least half the other monsters, rush
Construct 7. It has NO Faith, so magick attacks are useless. When you KO it
the first time, it will come back with 1 HP, so KO it again and the battle will
end.
There are ALSO a bunch of hidden items that you can find during this battle.
If you want to get them, you have to get them during this battle, as you can't
come back here after defeating Construct 7.
On top of the two pillars where the Hydras start, you'll find the best spear
(right pillar) and shield (left pillar). They're called the Javelin and
Escutcheon, but they're really totally different items. The lower your
Bravery, the better your odds of discovering them; otherwise, you'll end up
with a regular Javelin and Escutcheon, the WORST spear and shield. To get up
on top of the pillars, move Construct 8 or Reis next to the pillar as a
stepping-stone. You'll need at least a jump of 4 to get up using the stepping-
stone method. (Ignore Elevation is not an option because you need that ability
slot for Treasure Hunter!)
There are also two other hidden items: the Sasuke's Blade ninja blade, and the
Nagnarok sword, a sword that turns enemies into Toads. The Nagnarok has only 1
attack power but a high evade rate when used with Parry. Both these items also
require low Bravery, or you'll get Elixirs instead.
Sasuke's Blade is hidden in the grassy area behind the temple. When you're
facing the temple, on the right side, you'll see a staircase-like cliff that
you can use to climb up on top of the temple. Once you're on top of the
temple, continue moving away from your starting point into the green and brown
grassy area at the back end of the map. The specific tile is near the very far
back. Face the temple and move the cursor the upper-left corner of the map.
Now, move the cursor one tile to the right and one tile down. You should be on
a tile with a height of 4. This is the tile with Sasuke's Blade.
The Nagnarok sword is much closer to where you start. When the battle starts,
you'll see that Construct 7 is in the "doorway" of the temple just in front of
where you start. It's a black area with pillars on either side. You'll have
to lure Construct 7 out of the way. Once Construct 7 moves out of the way,
move into that "doorway," as if you were walking inside the temple. This is a
narrow passageway -- move the character as far back in the passage as the game
will let you in. The tile deepest inside the temple has the Nagnarok.
This can be a tough battle in its own right, and trying to claim all these
items will make it even harder. Bringing as any many women with Chantage as
possible will help keep you alive, of course -- and even Angel Rings (which
only give you Reraise once per battle) are useful. If your Treasure Hunter is
relatively weak, try equipping him/her with the Invisibility Cloak found on
Mount Germinas. As long as the character doesn't take any actual action and
just moves around picking up items, s/he should be left alone completely.
KOing one or both Hydras at the very start of the battle will leave their
bodies atop the pillars, preventing you from climbing up there until they
crystallize ... but go ahead and KO them anyway. You're being attacked by so
many enemies at the start that it's easier to take them out and then just wait
for them to crystallize once things have settled down.
The biggest concern when item-hunting is Construct 7 and its strong attacks.
Unfortunately, it's immune to most of the status conditions you might want to
inflict; instead, use Rend Speed over and over to whittle down its speed and
minimize the number of turns it gets. Once you've taken away all its speed,
you can then use Rend Power on it to make it even weaker. (Note that if you
combine Arts of War with Dual Wield, you get two Rends per turn.) If you're
doing the Rends at close range, you will have to endure Construct 7's
counterattacks, which is why Chantage will be helpful. Beware of accidentally
killing Construct 7 with any counterattacks you might have; you don't want the
battle to end prematurely! (And, keep in mind that all of Construct 7's
special attacks decrease its own HP a little bit.) You'll probably need to
stand by and keep healing Construct 7 while you continue item-hunting. The
other enemies can (and should!) be safely killed, of course.
Because the Javelin II and Esutcheon II have the same names as the crummy
Javelin and the Escutcheon, it's hard to tell during the battle which one
you've picked up. The Javelin II is gray instead of silver and has a fatter
point, and the Escutcheon II has gold trim (instead of silver) and an extra
vertical bar on its face. These details can be tough to spot in the few
seconds the item is displayed, though. An easier method is to put Reequip on
your Treasure Hunter, which will allow you to examine the items list during
battle. As long as you have "Display Unequippable Items" set to "On" (under
Options), you can see your entire list of equipment. Press Select to check the
stats. If the Javelin or Escutcheon has great stats, it's the one you want; if
it has terrible stats, it's the "regular" version. (You can reset if you don't
get what you're looking for.) You needn't even use up a turn to use Reequip
in this way; just cancel out of the equipment menu without changing anything
and you can take another action.
If you're not shooting for ALL the items, the Escutcheon II is generally the
best to pick up since it can be equipped by many jobs and cannot be found
anywhere else in the game. (The Javelin II and Sasuke's Blade can eventually
be caught with Sticky Fingers, and a Sasuke's Blade can be stolen in another
subquest.) The Javelin II is probably second-best, since it's the strongest
polearm, whereas Sasuke's Blade is inferior to the Koga and Iga blades found in
Midlight's Deep. The Nagnarok is the lowest priority, since it is of rather
dubious value to begin with and can always be poached from Swines.
BATTLE TROPHIES: None
--Cloud Subquest Battle: Sal Ghidos--
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, Cloud [guest], 3 others
ENEMY FORCES: Squire (male) x1, Monk (male) x1, Thief (male) x3
At this point in the game, a bunch of generic enemies with underpowered jobs
shouldn't pose much threat -- if you can't win this battle, you probably
shouldn't be playing the game ;). The main concern here is the three Thieves,
who may try to steal your stuff. If you've got any rare gear, you'll probably
want to equip Safeguard to make sure you don't lose it -- or just take the
Thieves out ASAP. You also need to make sure Cloud stays healthy, since you
lose the battle if he's KOed. He's usually not in any danger, though, since he
often flees into the far side of the map and avoids the melee completely.
BATTLE TROPHIES: None
--Disorder in the Order Battle: Brigands' Fort--
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, Agrias [guest], 3 others
ENEMY FORCES: Squire (male) x2, Knight (male) x2, Monk (female) x1,
Ninja (male) x1
Agrias fights as a Guest in this battle, but it's not necessary to keep her
from getting KOed. (You won't lose if she does.)
This battle is mainly a stealing extravaganza! Every enemy here has at least
one rare item you can't find in stores (although all these items are also
available in at least one other place in the game as well). The Squires have
Blaze and Glacial Guns respectively, the Ninja has a Sasuke's Blade, the Monk
has Ninja Gear and a Barette, and the Knights have a Venetian Shield and a
Kaiser Shields. If you get nothing else, the shields are probably your best
bet. Don't forget that raising your Speed helps you steal items, so use Ramza
and Luso's Tailwind (or the Bard's Rousing Melody) to crank up your Speed
stat. Balthier's Plunder skills are also advantageous here--they're more
likely to successfully steal than a regular Steal.
A couple of the enemies start up on top of the fort, which makes them hard to
reach unless you have a good Jump or Ignore Elevation. However, if you march
up to the top of the ramp in front of the fort, you can still hit them up with
a lot of special attacks (e.g. sword techniques), and guns and (especially)
Construct 8's Dispose are always good for attacking from a distance.
Note that all the enemies in this battle act as "special" characters who will
never crystallize or turn into chests. This can be kinda handy if you want
to steal from them. You can knock out all but one enemy, then revive just the
enemy you want to steal from, pilfer what you want, KO the enemy again, and
repeat. You never have to worry about anyone disappearing completely. Just
don't finish off the last enemy until you're done stealing!
BATTLE TROPHIES: None
--Lionel's New Liege Lord Battle 1: Lionel Castle Gate--
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, Beowulf [guest], 3 others
ENEMY FORCES: Alite [Templar], Archer (male) x2, Time Mage (female) x1,
Ninja (male) x2
Beowulf fights on your team as a Guest in this battle, which means you only
get to choose 3 other charactes to deploy. And while it's not spelled out in
the victory conditions, you have to keep Beowulf alive -- if he gets KOed, you
immediately get a Game Over. Be sure to equip him with some good armor or a
shield beforehand. It's probably a wise idea to deploy a decent healer as
well so that you can keep his health up. Since your principal enemy here has
Safeguard, Meliadoul's sword techniques are useless, so you probably won't
want to deploy her.
Aliste starts up on the roof, but since he has Elmdore's Master Teleportation
ability, he'll probably warp down to fight you before you can climb up after
him. He's a Templar just like Beowulf, so he has all of Beowulf's Spellblade
skills. (He has a nice set of Genji gear, but, also like Elmdore, he has
Safeguard, which means you unfortunately can't steal it from him.) Since
he can inflict a lot of status changes on you, be sure to have Remedy or Esuna
ready. Alternately, try wiping out Aliste's MP using the Knight's Rend MP,
Orlandeau's Duskblade, or the Dark Knight's Infernal Strike.
You might want to send one or two of your less powerful characters to take out
the Ninjas coming through the castle gate. The other enemies can probably
be ignored. The Archers won't do too much damage, and they're hard to attack
since the castle wall blocks your ability to shoot at them. If you want to
take them out, use Construct 8's Dispose, which can go through walls.
Focus your attacks on Alite. He uses Shirahadori to guard your physical
attacks. You can try to weaken this by using Orator skills to lower his
Bravery (since a lower Bravery means reaction abilities trigger less often),
and Beowulf may help you in this regard. Otherwise, just throw some spells and
sword techniques (or Construct 8's Dispose) at him until he goes down. The
first time you KO him, he'll revive with 1 HP, but just punch him out a second
time and you win the battle for real.
BATTLE TROPHIES: Genji Armor
--Lionel's New Liege Lord Battle 2: Lionel Castle Oratory--
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, Beowulf [guest], 3 others
ENEMY FORCES:
PHASE ONE: Bremondt [Celebrant], Mystic (female) x2, Samurai (female) x2,
Ninja (male) x2
PHASE TWO: Bremondt [Dark Dragon]
Bremondt has a pretty powerful set of underlings here. Most importantly, the
Samurai to Bremondt's right (the left side of the screen when the battle
begins) has a stealable Masamune. This is by far the easiest place to get this
weapon, so be sure to steal it! (The only other way to get a Masamune is to
catch it using Sticky Fingers when enemy Ninjas throw it.)
Some of Bremondt's other troops are pretty tough, too. The Mystic on his
left (again, the right side of the screen initially) is equipped with Chantage,
which means that there's no point in attacking her, as she'll just revive on
her next turn. The only way to take her out is to break the Chantage or steal
it. Since Chantage is extremely useful, stealing it isn't a bad idea, although
you CAN get them elsewhere. Watch out, both Mystics also have a pretty strong
attack since they're equipped with bags.
Other rare items available here are a Cachusha and Barette--stolen from the
Mystics on Bremondt's right and left, respectively--and the Sortile'ge perfume,
also stolen from the Mystic on his right. You'll be receiving a Sortile'ge
and Hydrascale Bag for completing this quest anyway, though, so these are
pretty skippable.
Bremondt himself is equipped with a Lordly Robe and (despite being male) a
Ribbon, which gives him a fair amount of HP. (Unfortunately, he has Safeguard,
so you can't steal this stuff from him.) As long as at least one of his
underlings is KOed, though, he usually wastes his turns casting Arise. (This
can actually helpful be if you accidentally KO the Samurai with the Masamune
before you're able to steal it.) Just make sure at least one of the generic
enemies stays knocked out while you go after Bremondt. Since the Ribbon
doesn't protect Bremondt from the Atheist status, you can also try using
the Mystic's Disbelief (or Beowulf's Doubt) to lower his Faith and make his
Arise spells more likely to fail. Alternately, attack his MP with Rend MP /
Duskblade / Infernal Strike.
When Bremondt is first KOed, he will transform into the Dark Dragon, and all
the other enemy troops will be wiped from the board. It's now time for the
second phase of this battle.
The Dark Dragon has some really strong physical attacks, and might occasionally
use breath attacks as well. It can Counter you when you attack, so you're
probably better off using sword techniques or other abilities that aren't
standard melee attacks. The Dark Dragon has about 3,000 HP; when you defeat
it, you'll clear this battle and the subquest.
BATTLE TROPHIES: Zeus Mace
%%%MIDLIGHT'S DEEP%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00bsmd
For a general description of how to advance in Midlight's Deep and find items,
see the Midlight's Deep section of the walkthrough.
---Level 1: The Crevasse---
In this level, you start out at the top of a large cliff with a staircase-like
path winding down it. The enemies are all at the bottom, which gives you a big
height advantage. It's easy to rain ranged attacks down on them. (If you do
want to use melee attacks, Ignore Elevation or other jump boosts are helpful
for navigating the cliff and descending quickly.) The enemies here are all
weak jobs and monsters, so they shouldn't be that difficult. (Sometimes
you'll get nothing but goblins!) This a good warm-up for the tougher
Midlight's Deep battles, though.
Remember to find the exit before you KO the last enemy. Otherwise, you won't
be able to advance to the next level!
ITEM LOCATIONS:
(X: 2, Y: 2 | height: 7) Glacial Gun
(X: 9, Y: 0 | height: 22) Blaze Gun
(X: 4, Y: 9 | height: 17) Kiyomori
(X: 6, Y: 0 | height: 20) Elixir
---Level 2: The Stair---
Despite the name, this floor isn't quite a stair. Instead, it's a bumpy
landscape full of variations in height. (So, again, Ignore Elevation and jump
boosts are helpful.) This level is a head-on confrontation between you and
your opponents, who start quite close to you. You do still have a bit of a
height advantage, though.
The enemy's forces are usually comprised of Archers, ahrimans, and skeletons.
Since there are often multiple Archers, the Archer's Bane ability is quite
helpful. Having your own strong range attacks also lets you KO the Archers
quickly. Take out the Archers first, then go after the skeletons (their Anima
attacks can be pretty strong!), and finally the ahrimans. Since you're being
attacked by the full party at once, putting Disable or Chicken on some enemies
or using Rend/Crush Weapon on humans will stop their attacks and give you some
breathing room.
You may fight ghosts or goblins instead, which is usually an easier battle.
Both groups of enemies are definitely toughter than those in The Crevasse,
however.
ITEM LOCATIONS:
(X: 2, Y: 7 | height: 6) Blood Sword
(X: 6, Y:10 | height: 9) Elixir
(X: 8, Y: 1 | height: 1) Save the Queen
(X: 4, Y: 0­ | height: 0) Elixir
---Level 3: The Hollow---
The Hollow has a big chasm running through the center of it, dividing the map
into three separate regions. Your party starts on a separate "island" from the
enemy squad and you can only cross with a jump.
If you bring a lot of characters with long-range attacks (guns, Arithmeticks,
Construct 8's Dispose), this should be fairly easy. From your starting point,
guns and Dispose can hit almost all of the enemies. Since they have to
navigate around the pits, you can just stand there and blast away. Just Wait
instead of moving and you can get your next turn even faster. Still, the
enemies will catch up with you eventually, so you'll want to bring along a good
close-range fighter or two (like Orlandeau) as well.
Probably the most dangerous enemy here are the Mindflayers. Their Mind Blast
ability can Berserk or Confuse you, and has enough range that it can reach
across the chasm. Try to take them out first. (Remember that Confused
characters can be cured by whacking them with a physical attack. This doesn't
cure Berserk, though.)
You'll likely see some Black Mages as well, who can of course hit you with
magick from a distance. Stealing away their MP is one good way of dealing with
them. A gun paired with Rend MP can do this from a long distance, and
Orlandeau's Duskblade has a decent range too.
ITEM LOCATIONS:
(X: 4, Y: 3 | height: 1.5) Elixir
(X: 8, Y: 6 | height: 0.5) Zeus Mace
(X: 7, Y:15 | height: 1.5) Elixir
(X: 2, Y: 9 | height: 4.5) Yoichi Bow
---Level 4: The Catacombs---
The Catacombs are actually just a big staircase that winds back and forth,
similar to The Crevasse (the first floor). However, the staircase is longer
and each tier is separated by a chasm, so you can't jump straight down.
Depending on the enemies you face, this level can either be easy or pretty
challenging. There are three main types of enemies you'll face here: Malboros,
Aevises, and Oracles. The Malboros are the easiest. They're slow, don't have
ranged attacks, and tend to bunch up in groups. You can take your time
advancing against them and attack them with wide-range attacks (e.g. Hallowed
Bolt).
The other enemies are tougher. The Aevises will quickly fly up the stairs to
attack you and can fly over your front line to attack the magick-/item-users in
the back. The Oracles can also be a pain since they will put lots of status
conditions on you and often start near your team. If you have any Hair
Adornments to equip on your female characters, they will protect against lots
of potential status ailments. Attack the Oracles first since they have less HP
and you can probably KO them the fastest. Attack the Aevises second and save
any Malboros for last.
The exit is almost always towards the end of path, as are most of the items.
This can make them difficult to reach if the enemy squad confronts you head-on.
You'll probably have the best luck finding everything when you're fighting the
Malboros and have plenty of room and time for navigation.
ITEM LOCATIONS:
(X:12, Y: 2 | height: 7) Elixir
(X: 4, Y: 8 | height: 4) Rod of Faith
(X: 5, Y:10 | height: 4) Kaiser Shield
(X: 5, Y: 9 | height: 6) Faerie Harp
---Level 5: The Oubliette---
The Oubliette is basically a "king of the hill" scenario. You're up on top of
a hill which is surrounded by loads of enemies. There's only one path up (or
down) the hill, which loops counterclockwise around the cliff. Note that the
Excalibur is hidden right on the top of the hill, where you start. Be sure to
pick this one up ... the permanent Haste is very useful! If you have Reequip,
you can even arm yourself it with it right away.
Of course, it's possible to launch attacks down at the enemies from atop the
the cliff, but it's trickier than it looks. The angle is so steep that guns
probably won't work. Your best best is probably just to wind your way down the
trail. For the most part, you'll be on the opposite side of the hill as the
enemies and they can't hit you anyways. Do be careful when you're descending
the initial ramp, though. If you stand close to the edge of the cliff, any
enemy Archers or Summoners CAN hit you from below.
Because the trail is pretty narrow, it can get hard to see where your
characters are, or how far your moving/targeting range extends. Don't forget
that you can rotate the "camera" by tapping the analog stick (in the lower-left
of the PSP) left or right. This will often help you get a better view.
Pressing the R button on top of the PSP will also tilt the camera angle.
After you've made a couple turns around the hill and end up facing the irection
you did when you started the level, you'll come to a pass that's only two tiles
wide. This is the best place to fight. You can just send Divine Ruinations
or Shockwaves down this corridor and rip the enemies. (If you have both Agrias
and Orlandeau you can cover the entire pass with Divine Ruinations.)
Any White Mages you encounter are actually the most dangerous enemies here, as
they will keep healing and Raising the other enemies. Kill them first. If the
enemy team is nothing but various sorts of dryads, it's much easier.
With all the carnage going on, finding the exit can be tough. Try using Ignore
Elevation and jumping down to the far end of the path right away.
ITEM LOCATIONS:
(X: 4, Y: 8 | height: 18) Excalibur
(X: 0, Y:11 | height: 11) Elixir
(X: 6, Y:11 | height: 7) Iga Blade
(X: 6, Y: 0 | height: 1) Elixir
---Level 6: The Palings---
The Palings seems really small at first, but scroll around to see the whole
picture. It's a mostly flat level with three big rock ridges. Select a long
range attack to get a feel for where they are. Since you can't move over or
through the ridges (even with Ignore Elevation), you'll have to wind your way
around them. A much better strategy, though, is to just cast magick *through*
them, while the enemies are still trying to navigate around them. Sword
techniques and summon spells work great for this purpose. You can even use
Jump to attack over the walls.
As in The Oubliette, it can often get pretty hard to see where you're going, so
rotate the camera to keep track of where the enemies are and where you can
move.
Sometimes, you'll encounter a slew of Vampire Cats here. They like to use
Blaster to turn you to stone, so you may want to equip Jade Armlets for
protection just in case, or at least bring a supply of Gold Needle or Remdies.
Note that all the hidden items are right in the starting corner -- there's no
excuse not to pick them up. (If you start on top of one the item tiles, you
have to first move to another tile and then move to the item tile before you
can get the item to appear.)
ITEM LOCATIONS:
(X: 0, Y: 9 | height: 5) Elixir
(X: 0, Y: 8 | height: 5) Blaster
(X: 1, Y, 8 | height: 5) Cursed Ring
(X: 1, Y: 9 | height: 5) Ninja Gear
---Level 7: The Crossing---
The Crossing is a mostly flat level with a big rock ridge running through the
middle. There's a small gap running through the ridge (the Crossing, I
suppose) that separates it into two smaller cliffs.
You start off next to one of the ends of the ridge. Most of the time, the
enemies will all be clustered around the other cliff. Advance forwards and
start fighting them, using height to your advantage where you can. Again,
because you're often fighting a large group at once, abilities that quickly
put an enemy out of commission (e.g. Chicken or Arm Shot) are helpful.
Sometimes, the enemies will be more spread out across the level. Advance
foward just the same and cross the level on the level ground. Trying to climb
over the ridge is just liable to get your characters separated and surrounded.
There's actually not much need to climb up onto the top of the ridge except to
find the items stashed up there. Most of the items (including the two rare
weapons) are atop the cliff that you start beside. To get up there, from the
starting point, move forward a little bit, then move sideways into the gap
through the ridge. From here, you can jump on top of the ridge, but you'll
need a Jump of 5. If you need a boost, use Construct 8 or another large
monster as a stepping stool. (Remember, of course, that you can't combine
Ignore Elevation with Treasure Hunter.)
Sometimes, you'll encounter the strongest minotaur monster here (Sekhret).
Poach it if you see it as it will get you one of two rare weapons -- the Holy
Lance (common) or the Ivory Pole (rare).
ITEM LOCATIONS:
(X: 4, Y: 4 | height: 12) Elixir
(X: 4, Y:10 | height: 13) Staff of the Magi
(X: 4, Y:12 | height: 12) Koga Blade
(X: 4, Y:14 | height: 10) Elixir
---Level 8: The Switchback---
This level has two tiers. You start on the high one and have to cross it,
descend a stair, and fight back across the lower tier (hence the name "The
Switchback.") As in other levels like The Oubliette, the decline is so steep
that it's pretty hard to shoot downwards, so you're better off heading for
the stairs.
Often times, you'll encounter a swarm of Archers (and nothing but!) here, so
readying Archer's Bane beforehand is a good strategy. This fight isn't too
tough since the Archers can't do all THAT much damage (and often take time
charging up Aim).
On other occasions, you'll fight very powerful monsters -- behemoth, dragons,
and hydras (oh my!). When you see these guys, you may want to forestall
hunting for items or the exit and just focus on surviving.
ITEM LOCATIONS:
(X: 4, Y: 6 | height: 3) Perseus Bow
(X: 6, Y: 7 | height: 3) Lordly Robe
(X: 9, Y: 8 | height: 3) Ragnarok
(X:10, Y:10 | height: 3) Elixir
---Level 9: The Interstice---
The Interstice has a tricky layout. You start on one of two pillars. (There's
also a tiny mini-pillar in between the two pillars.) Parallel to the pillars
is a flat plateau area where the enemies often start. The terrain in between
and on the other side of the pillars is flat.
The enemies often start on top of the plateau. From their position here, they
will launch spells and arrows up at you. If you stand on the side of the
pillar closest to them, you can hit them back with some ranged attacks. To
really attack them (and to use any close-range abilities), though, you'll need
to take down the long route down to their plateau. Jump across the mini-pillar
to the other pillar. From here, there's a staircase down to the plateau.
You should probably hurry for the staircase as quickly as you can. While you
CAN attack from the top of the pillars, it's too crowded to move around, making
it difficult to target the enemies you want. Start moving across the pillars
as fast as you can. You *could* also use Ignore Elevation to jump down to
the plateau, but this is pretty tricky because: (a) there's a hole in the
corner of the map closest to where you start; the only route you can take is
directly down off the front of the pillar where you start and (b) the character
is liable to get surrounded and killed quickly. Only try this if you have a
pretty sturdy character with a lot of HP or a good reaction ability (e.g.
Shirahadori).
You'll also need to take the plateau route if you want to claim all the items
-- the Maximillian armor is located on the far end of the plateau, and the
Venetian Shield is down on the flat floor. (The Grand Helm is up on the
pillars.) All of these are definitely worth grabbing.
The specific enemies you face here, of course, vary. Often times, you'll face
an assortment of Black Mages, Archers, Knights, and Chocobos. Don't forget
that you can stop the Black Mages pretty quickly by stealing their MP --
Orlandeau's Duskblade works well for that. Another set of enemies involves
Ninja and Samurai. They're fairly easy. If you're just looking to clear the
battle, kill the Ninjas first, since they can throw from a distance. But, if
the Ninjas are at a high level (90+) they will throw rare weapons at you that
you can catch the Thief reaction ability Sticky Fingers. Kill off the Samurai
first and then just sit around and let them throw weapons at you.
Finally, sometimes, instead of the Ninja and Samurai convention, you get
dragons and Cockatrices. This is tough. Try to stay in a tight group on the
pillars and use your best attacks. Attack the Cockatrices first, then go for
the dragons closest to you.
Note that with all enemy groups, some of the enemies can sometimes be very hard
to see, if they slip in between the pillars or between the pillar and plateau.
Try to track where they're moving so you don't forget about them if you can't
see them on the screen.
Finding the exit in this level can be tricky. It's often on the flat "flooor"
below the pillars and plateau. Your best best is to put Ignore Elevation on
an invisible character and immediately to quickly from the starting pillar down
to the flat ground. If you don't have the items/abilities for that, you'll
have to take the very long route: hop across the pillars, descend to the
plateau, cross the plateau, and THEN reach the set of stairs down the floor.
ITEM LOCATIONS:
(X: 3, Y: 4 | height: 8) Grand Helm
(X: 3, Y: 5 | height: 2) Venetian Shield
(X: 9, Y: 0 | height: 4) Maximillian
(X: 3, Y:10 | height: 2) Elixir
---Level 10: Terminus---
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, the Byblos [guest], 4 others
ENEMY FORCES: Elidibus [Serpentarius], Reaver x6
Note that the battle with Elidibus is considered a story battle; you'll have to
deploy Ramza the first time you visit here. If you want to learn the Zodiark
summon spell (and this is your only opportunity to do so), you'll need to
deploy someone who is a Summoner.
There's no exit to find here, just a confrontation with Elidibus and a whole
pile of Reavers. Elidibus is at the top of a spiral staircase; you'll have to
fight your way up past the Reavers to reach him.
The enemy Reavers are gray. The purple monster behind you, the Byblos, is NOT
an enemy; its a Guest fighting on your side. Don't kill it; it's your friend!
(The personal name of the Byblos is random, but it can be identified by its
"Byblos" monster type and purple color.) The Byblos is pretty slow-moving, but
it can heal you from afar. Keep it alive and it will join you afterwards.
Begin fighting your way up the stairs. The Reavers aren't hard to kill; sword
techniques or Dual Wielded physical attacks work wonders. Since their Bio
spells take time to charge, you can often KO them before they can even cast the
spell. (And the Bio spells aren't all that strong, anyway, so they're not much
to worry about.) You'll reach Elidibus quickly.
Elidibus's main attack is the extremely powerful Zodiark summon (700+ damage).
It's obvious when he's going to cast it from the humongous damage estimates --
plus it takes a long time to charge. Get out of the way if you can! Split
your guys up so he can't take out too many at one time.
Healing is pointless because Zodiark will basically kill you no matter how much
HP you have. (And, if you're using Beowulf, keeping his HP low will allow
Vengeance to do more damage!) Do, however, revive KOed characters. Angel
Rings and Chantage will be quite useful in this battle as they let you recover
from the inevitable KO. (Angel Rings work only once; Chantage works multiple
times.)
While Zodiark is Elidibus's main attack, you'll also need to watch out for his
Poisonous Frog, which turns characters into toads (and poisons them), rendering
them usueless. For female characters, equipping any Cachushas or Ribbons you
have may be a good idea as they will protect you from both Poison and Toad
status. Alternately, you can just use Esuna or Purification to remove the
status -- Purification is especially helpful since it doesn't need to charge.
When you reach Elidibus, attack him with your strongest abilities -- preferably
ones that hit from a distance so that he can't counterattack you. Sword
techniques, as always, are great. He's particularly vulnerable while charging
Zodiark, so be sure to attack him at these times. Attack Boost will also help
you do more damage quickly. The key to this battle is mostly just surviving
Zodiark; if you can keep one or two heavy hitters alive, you can fell him
fairly quickly.
You can learn Zodiark if Elidibus casts it on a Summoner and the Summoner
survives the spell. (Coming back to life with Reraise doesn't count; the
Summoner must NOT be KOed by the spell.) When this happens, there's a random
probability (high but not 100%) that you'll learn the spell. The easiest way
to learn the spell is to equip the Time Mage ability Mana Shield. As long as
you have at least 1 MP, this ability causes all attacks to damage only your MP
instead of HP. So, being hit with Zodiark will empty out your MP, but leave
the character standing. If you don't learn the spell on your first attempt,
use an Ether or Chakra to get back at least 1 MP and try again. If you don't
have Mana Shield, an alternate method is to put Equip Heavy Armor on the
Summoner to get his or her HP as high as possible, then start hitting Elidibus
with Rend Magick as many times as you can (preferably using a gun, bow, or
polearm to attack from a distance, so that he can't counterattack). This will
lower his magick power and decrease the amount of damage Zodiark can do,
potentially allowing your Summoner to withstand the spell without Mana Shield.
(Mana Shield is only 400 JP, though, so it's not too tough to learn.)
Elidibus has 2600-2700 HP. If you are trying to learn Zodiark, keep track of
how much damage you're doing and don't hurt him too much until you learn the
spell. You don't want to kill him on accident. (Remember, this battle is your
only chance to learn Zodiark.)
The four hidden items are all located on the platform where Elidibus starts.
You'll have a much easier time finding them if you come back AFTER you beat
him, instead of trying to get them during the battle with Elidibus.
ITEM LOCATIONS:
(X:10, Y: 7 | height: 15) Chaos Blade
(X:12, Y: 5 | height: 15) Chirijiraden
(X:12, Y: 7 | height: 15) Elixir
(X:10, Y: 5 | height: 15) Elixir
*******************************************************************************
VI. JOBS 00job0
*******************************************************************************
---General Information About Jobs----------------------------------------------
EQUIPPING ABILITIES
Each job has a category of Action Abilities (e.g. "Black Magick" or "Steal").
This category of abilities is always available for use by the job. In
addition, each job can equip one other job's Action Ability category. So, you
can have a Black Mage with the Knight's Arts of War ability, or a Samurai who
uses both her inherent Iaido ability plus the Chemists' Items ability.
Each job can also equip one Reaction Ability, one Support Ability, and one
Movement Ability. Note that the Reaction/Support/Movement Abilities that a job
can learn are NOT automatically available (with a few exceptions noted below).
You must use your slots to equip them!
The exception to all of the above is the Onion Knight job, which can't equip
any abilities at all.
JOBS & STATS
A character's current stats are, of course, partially determined by his or her
current level, as well as by the jobs you used to level up with in the past.
(Note that you can use job effects on level ups as a way of grinding your
characters' stats even higher. See Level Ups & Stat Grinding under Various
Tricks for more information.)
But, a character's CURRENT job also plays a big role in determining your
current stats. Black Mages have high MP and magick strength, but a weak
physical attack. Thieves are speedy but don't have much HP. Below, I've
given rough approximations of each job's stats on a scale of 1 star (poor) to
5 stars (excellent).
Three stats do not change with level ups and depend only on your current job
plus your accessories/equipment. Movement range is the number of tiles a
character can move per turn. Jump height is the maximum height distance
between tiles that a character can traverse while moving. (Additionally, when
faced with a gap, characters can make horizontal jumps equal to half their Jump
height.) Finally, each job has a inherent evade rate for physical attacks.
Note that even though the status screen has a space for an inherent magikal
evade rate, all controllable jobs have a 0% basic magick evade. The only way
to get a magick evade rate is to equip shields or accessories.
UNLOCKING JOBS
Aside from Squire and Chemist, jobs must be unlocked. In order to use a given
job, a character must first gain Job Levels with other jobs. For example, to
switch to the White Mage job, a character must have Chemist at job level 3 or
higher. (The requirements for each job are listed in the charts below.)
Job Levels are determined by the TOTAL amount of JP you've earned with a given
job. Spending JP to purchase abilities does NOT decrease this total. So, a
character who's earned 730 JP with Samurai would have a Samurai job level of 4,
even if he's spent 500 of those JP on abilities.
Job Level 1 0 JP total
Job Level 2 200 JP total
Job Level 3 400 JP total
Job Level 4 700 JP total
Job Level 5 1100 JP total
Job Level 6 1600 JP total
Job Level 7 2200 JP total
Job Level 8 3000 JP total
Mastered All abilities learned
Note that it's possible to Master a job even if your job level is less than 8.
Squire, Geomancer, and some special jobs require less than 3000 JP to Master,
and you can Master other jobs with less than 3000 JP if you learn a lot of
abilities from crystals. Your Job Level is actually independent of whether
you've Mastered the job and continues to go up until it reaches 8, even if
you've already Mastered the job. Keep this in mind, because most jobs unlock
based on JOB LEVELS, not on Mastered jobs. (For instance, Dark Knight requires
you to have job level 8 with Geomancer, even though you can master Geomancer
with only job level 7!)
The Job Level for Onion Knight is determined by the number of other jobs that
you've Mastered. Mime always has Job Level 8.
SPECIAL JOBS
Some story characters that join your party have special jobs available for
that character. They aren't available to generic characters. In all cases
where a story character has a special job, the special job replaces the Squire
job for that character. For more on these special jobs, see the Special Jobs
portion of the job/ability list, below.
---Deciphering the Charts------------------------------------------------------
A few (well, many) words of explanation about the job & ability charts below.
ACTION ABILITIES
MP: Action Abilities first list the MP cost of each ability. If no MP cost is
listed, the ability doesn't require MP to use.
REFLECT/ARITHMETICKS: For magick, you may see an "R" and/or an "A" after its MP
cost. "R" means the spell can be reflected -- if it's cast on a character who
has the Reflect status, the spell will bounce off and might even strike another
target! "A" means it can be cast using the Arithmetician's Arithmeticks
ability.
SPEED: Next comes the Speed ("SPD") of the ability. This determines how long
the ability takes to charge up. The SMALLER the number, the LONGER it takes to
charge. If no number is listed, the ability is used instantaneously and
doesn't need to charge.
RANGE: Two numbers are listed for Range ("RNG"). The first ("H") is the
horizontal range in tiles -- how many tiles away can the target be? Usually,
you'll see a number. You might also see "Weapon" instead, which means the
range of the ability is equal to the range of the user's current weapon.
"4Dir" means "4 directions"; the ability reaches only in the cardinal
directions and extends the length of its effect radius (see below). The second
number under Range ("V") is the vertical range. Some abilities can only target
characters who are within a certain height of the caster. A * displayed here
means the ability has an infinite vertical range and can target characters at
any height (most abilities actually fall into this category).
EFFECT RADIUS: Many abilities affect not just the character targeted, but
nearby tiles as well. This is the "Effect Radius" of the ability, and is
listed under "RAD". Again, the first number is the horizontal radius -- how
wide is the effect radius in terms of # of map tiles? (An ability with a
radius of 1 targets only one tile; a greater radius target more.) The second
number is the vertical radius. In most cases, the effect radius only holds
over tiles within a certain vertical height of the central target.
So, for instance, the spell Blizzaga has a range of 4/*. This means that it
can target any unit within 4 panels of the caster, regardless of vertical
distance. It also has an effect radius of 2/3. This means that it has a
radius of horizontal size 2 -- it hits both the targeted tile and neighboring
tiles that are 1 tile away. The vertical radius is 3, so any neighboring tiles
that differ in height by more than 3 will NOT be part of the effect radius.
TARGETS: Target ("TAR") determines whether the ability affects only allies
within in the effect radius, only foes, or both. Continuing the Blizzara
example, Blizzara target All units within the radius, meaning that both enemy
units and your own allies will be affected. Look out!
LINE OF FIRE: Finally, Line of Fire ("LF") displays whether the ability
requires an unobstructed line of fire between the user and the target. If Y
(yes) is displayed here, the ability requires a direct line of fire and CANNOT
travel through other units or obstructions such as walls. (If there is another
unit in the way, that unit will be hit instead! See Shoot Enemies Next to You
under Various Tricks for tips on how to exploit this to your advantage.) If N
(no) is displayed for Line of Fire, the ability does NOT require a direct line
of fire and works even if there are walls or other units in the way. Of
course, Line of Fire is irrelevant for abilities that affect only the user or
units in adjacent tiles, since there can't be any other obstacles in between.
REACTION ABILITIES
Reaction Abilities trigger when the character is hit by a specific kind of
action. The action that triggers that the Reaction Ability is listed under
Trigger. ("Critical HP" means when you are low on HP and the character is
kneeling/crouching.)
Most Reaction Abilities don't always activate. In most cases, the chance of a
Reaction Ability activating is equal to the character's Bravery. If "Yes" is
displayed under Bravery ("BRV"), the chance of the Reaction Ability activating
is equal to your Bravery. If "No" is displayed, Bravery does not affect the
Reaction Ability; the ability either ALWAYS works, or is affected by something
else listed in the description for that ability.
SUPPORT AND MOVEMENT ABILITIES
Support and Movement Abilities are pretty straightforward.
INNATE ABILITIES
Abilities marked with a + are automatically used by that that job and only
needs to be equipped when you switch to another job. For example, the Ninja
doesn't need to equip Dual Wield to use two weapons. You only need Dual Wield
when you change to a different job and want to retain that ability.
RECOMMENDED ABILITIES
Some abilities have been marked with *. A * here means the ability is (in my
usually inaccurate opinion) one of the job's best.
%%%STANDARD JOBS%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00job1
---SQUIRE----------------------------------------------------------------------
Job Requirements: none Movement range : 4
Equippable weapons: Knives, swords, axes, flails Jump height : 3
Equippable armor: Hats, clothes Physical evade : 5%
Stats:
HP: *** MP: *** Phys. Atk.: *** Mag. Atk.: ** Speed: ***
--ABILITIES--
--Action Abilities: Fundaments--
RNG RAD
MP SPD H/V H/V TAR LF JP EFFECT
---------------------------------------------------------------
Focus * Slf 1/- Self - 300 Raises physical attack power by 1
for duration of battle
Rush 1/1 1/- Any - 80 Weak physical attack, may knock
enemy back one tile
Stone 4/* 1/- Any Y 90 Weak (ranged) physical attack,
may knock enemy back one tile
Salve 1/2 1/- Any - 150 Cures Blind, Silence, Poison
--Reaction Abilities--
TRIGGER BRV JP EFFECT
------------------------------------------------------------
Counter Tackle Phys. attack Yes 180 Counterattack using Rush
--Support Abilities--
JP EFFECT
------------------------------------------------------------
Equip Axes + 170 Equip Axes regardless of current job
Beastmaster 200 Monsters in adjacent tiles gain an
extra ability. (Limited to
vertical range of 3.)
Defend 50 Allows use of Defend action to
reduce physical damage received
JP Boost * 250 Raises JP received by the unit
--Movement Abilities--
JP EFFECT
------------------------------------------------------------
Move +1 * 200 Movement range + 1
JP to master: 1670
--MY THOUGHTS--
Squires are what you'd expect from a starting job -- functional, but nothing
all that special. Their abilities are useful early on, but there aren't too
many that you'd use later on. Move +1 is a great all-purpose movement ability
though, and definitely worth learning before you move on from Squire. (Most
other jobs have a movement range of only 3, making it tough for them to keep
up with the battle.) JP Boost is also great for helping you learn other
abilities quickly, especially when you switch to a new job and need to gain
levels quickly. It's a great investment to learn JP Boost early on.
If you're into grinding levels, Focus and Stone are good abilities to use
repeatedly to build up experience or JP.
---CHEMIST---------------------------------------------------------------------
Job Requirements: none Movement range : 3
Equippable weapons: Knives, guns Jump height : 3
Equippable armor: Hats, clothes Physical evade : 5%
Innate ability: Throw Items
Stats:
HP: *** MP: *** Phys. Atk.: ** Mag. Atk.: ** Speed: ***
--ABILITIES--
--Action Abilities: Items--
RNG RAD
MP SPD H/V H/V TAR LF JP EFFECT
---------------------------------------------------------------
Potion * 1/* 1/- Any Y 30 Can use Potions (restore 30 HP)
Hi-Potion * 1/* 1/- Any Y 200 Can use Hi-Potions (restore 70
HP)
X-Potion * 1/* 1/- Any Y 300 Can use X-Potions (restore 150
HP)
Ether 1/* 1/- Any Y 300 Can use Ethers (restore 20 MP)
Hi-Ether * 1/* 1/- Any Y 400 Can use Hi-Ethers (restore 50 MP)
Elixir 1/* 1/- Any Y 900 Can use Elixirs (restore all HP &
MP)
Antidote 1/* 1/- Any Y 70 Can use Antidotes (cures Poison)
Eye Drops 1/* 1/- Any Y 80 Can use Eye Drops (cures Blind)
Echo Herbs 1/* 1/- Any Y 120 Can use Echo Herbs (cures
Silence)
Maiden's Kiss 1/* 1/- Any Y 200 Can use Maiden's Kisses (cures
Toad)
Gold Needle 1/* 1/- Any Y 250 Can use Gold Needles (cures
Stone)
Holy Water 1/* 1/- Any Y 400 Can use Holy Water (cures Undead
and Vampire)
Remedy * 1/* 1/- Any Y 700 Can use Remedies (cures Stone,
Blind, Confuse, Silence, Oil,
Toad, Poison, and Sleep)
Phoenix Down * 1/* 1/- Any Y 90 Can use Phoenix Down (revives
KOed character with minimal HP)
Note 1: All Items abilities require you to have the corresponding item in your
inventory. One item is consumed with each use. Aside from Elixirs, all the
items can be bought at the Outfitter, although some do not become available
until later in the game.
Note 2: The Throw Items ability (equippable, and also innate in the Chemist
job) extends the range of all Items abilities from 1 to 4.
--Reaction Abilities--
TRIGGER BRV JP EFFECT
------------------------------------------------------------
Auto-Potion * Any HP loss Yes 400 Use weakest potion available on self
--Support Abilities--
JP EFFECT
------------------------------------------------------------
Throw Items +* 350 Increases horizontal range of Items
command from 1 to 4.
Safeguard * 250 Equipment can't be broken or stolen
Reequip 0 Allows use of Reequip action to
change unit's equipment (but
consumes turn)
--Movement Abilities--
JP EFFECT
------------------------------------------------------------
Treasure Hunter 100 Allows you to discover any hidden
items on the destination tile,
which are then added to your
inventory. Your chance of getting
a more valuable item increases
with LOW Bravery.
JP to master: 5140
--MY THOUGHTS--
Despite being a "basic" job, Chemists are great! Items are great for healing
because they don't take any time to charge and never miss. Ethers and
Hi-Ethers are also a convenient way to restore MP. And, since the effect of
items is fixed, you can assign the Items ability even to a character with low
magic ability. The only real downside is that items can only heal one
character at a time.
Early in the game, Chemists make great healers. Plus, once you're able to buy
guns (late in Chapter II), they have a good range attack, giving them something
else to do when the team doesn't need healing.
Be sure to learn Throw Items before you switch your Chemist to another job.
Otherwise, your items will only have a range of 1 and won't be much good at
all. (Chemists themselves don't need to learn Throw Items, as they have it as
an intrinsic ability.)
It's pretty safe to skip the items that cure negative status (Eye Drops, etc.);
you don't have to face these status conditions all that often. Save your JP
and just learn Remedy; once Remedies become available (midway through Chapter
II) they duplicate the effects of ALL the other items. The exception is Holy
Water, but there's pretty much only point where you have to worry about being
hit with the Undead or Vampire conditions.
Safeguard is an important support ability, especially later in the game when
you have rare equipment that you can't buy in stores. You don't want that
being broken or stolen! Although you don't need to equip Safeguard all the
time, it's good to have on hand for particular battles where the enemies are
apt to break your equipment.
The Treasure Hunter movement ability, on the other hand, isn't all that useful
during the main game since most of the items you find from it are nothing
special. However, in the game's sidequests, Treasure Hunter will net you some
rare items you can't find anywhere else, so at that point you'll definitely
want to have at least one character learn Treasure Hunter. (Preferably someone
with low Bravery, as this increases your chance of getting good items with it.)
---KNIGHT----------------------------------------------------------------------
Job Requirement: Squire lv. 2 Movement range : 4
Equippable weapons: Swords, knight's swords Jump height : 3
Equippable armor: Shields, helms, armor, robes Physical evade : 10%
Stats:
HP: **** MP: *** Phys. Atk.: **** Mag. Atk.: ** Speed: ***
--ABILITIES--
--Action Abilities: Arts of War--
RNG RAD
MP SPD H/V H/V TAR LF JP EFFECT
---------------------------------------------------------------
Rend Helm Weapon Any Y 300 Destroys target's headgear
Rend Armor Weapon Any Y 400 Destroys target's armor
Rend Shield Weapon Any Y 300 Destroys target's shield
Rend Weapon * Weapon Any Y 400 Destroys target's weapon
Rend MP Weapon Any Y 250 Lowers target's MP
Rend Speed * Weapon Any Y 250 Lowers target's speed
Rend Power Weapon Any Y 250 Lowers target's phys. attack
Rend Magick Weapon Any Y 250 Lowers target's mag. attack
--Reaction Abilities--
TRIGGER BRV JP EFFECT
------------------------------------------------------------
Parry No 200 Block physical attacks with weapon;
rate of success is equal to
current weapon's Block Rate (see
weapon list)
--Support Abilities--
JP EFFECT
------------------------------------------------------------
Equip Heavy Armor +* 500 Can equip heavy armor + helmets
regardless of job
Equip Shields + 250 Can equip shields regardless of job
Equip Swords +* 400 Can equip swords regardless of job
(does not apply to knight's
swords)
--Movement Abilities--
none
JP to master: 3750
--MY THOUGHTS--
The Knight's greatest asset is not the Arts of War, but its fairly good
fighting stats and inherent ability to equip swords, heavy armor, and shields,
a power that can be transfered to other jobs with its support abilities. Equip
Heavy Armor helps make vulnerable jobs tougher, and Equip Sword is quite useful
for many of the story characters, who need to have a sword equipped in order to
use their special abilities.
Knights are also a good job late in the game, when you've learned all the
abilities you want and now just want to maximize your characters' power. They
have good HP and attack power, and are one of the few jobs that can equip
knight's swords, the single-player game's most powerful weapons. (The only
other standard job that can use them is Dark Knight, which has quite a few
prerequisites to unlock).
The Arts of War abilities are only moderately useful as Knight. They have
fairly low accuracy and if you're close enough to use them, you'll often want
to just start attacking and KO the enemy rather than mess with his/her stats.
However, pairing Arts of War with a gun (e.g. by using the Orator's Equip Gun
ability) or the Archer's bows lets you use these attacks at a distance, which
makes them quite useful. You can break your enemies' weapons before they can
get close enough to use them!
---ARCHER----------------------------------------------------------------------
Job Requirements: Squire lv. 2 Movement range : 3
Equippable weapons: Bows, crossbows Jump height : 3
Equippable armor: Shields, hats, clothes Physical evade : 10%
Stats:
HP: *** MP: ** Phys. Atk.: **** Mag. Atk.: ** Speed: ***
--ABILITIES--
--Action Abilities: Aim--
RNG RAD
MP SPD H/V H/V TAR LF JP EFFECT
---------------------------------------------------------------
Aim +1 * Weapon Any Y 100 Charge up attack for more damage
Aim +2 * Weapon Any Y 150 Charge up attack for more damage
Aim +3 * Weapon Any Y 200 Charge up attack for more damage
Aim +4 Weapon Any Y 250 Charge up attack for more damage
Aim +5 Weapon Any Y 300 Charge up attack for more damage
Aim +7 Weapon Any Y 400 Charge up attack for more damage
Aim +10 Weapon Any Y 700 Charge up attack for more damage
Aim +20 Weapon Any Y 1200 Charge up attack for more damage
Each of these Aim abilities does more damage than the previous one, but also
takes longer to charge. (e.g., Aim +4 does more damage than Aim +3). Note
that if the enemy you're targeting moves while you're charging, your attack
will miss.
--Reaction Abilities--
TRIGGER BRV JP EFFECT
------------------------------------------------------------
Adrenaline Rush * Any HP loss Yes 900 Raise Speed by 1
Archer's Bane * Arrow attack Yes 450 Evade bow / crossbow attacks
--Support Abilities--
JP EFFECT
------------------------------------------------------------
Equip Crossbows + 350 Can equip crossbows regardless of
job (does not apply to regular
bows)
Concentration * 400 Prevents enemies from evading your
physical attacks
--Movement Abilities--
JP EFFECT
------------------------------------------------------------
Jump +1 200 Jump height + 1
JP to master: 5600
--MY THOUGHTS--
Archers make a very valuable addition to your team early in the game, when you
have few other range attacks. Later in the game, as you acquire guns, sword
techniques, and other ranged attacks, Archers become somewhat less useful. For
one thing, their Aim command is of limited value. The high Aims (Aim +10,
etc.) take too long to charge and there's rarely any enemy you can target with
them. The short Aims will increase your damage a little and are worth using
when you have the chance, but don't increase your offense enough to make them
worth choosing over another command.
Archer's Bane, though, is a great reaction ability against enemy Archers --
with a high Bravery, you're almost impervious to arrows! Since you'll fight
Archers in quite a few battles throughout the game, this is a good ability to
learn early on.
Always equip your Archers with the 2-handed longbows rather than crossbows--
longbows do more damage and have a longer range. Crossbows do let you equip a
shield at the same time, but since your Archers should be on the back line
anyway, they don't need shields that much. Note that Archers are in fact the
ONLY standard job that can equip longbows. The Equip Crossbows ability only
let other jobs use crossbows (not longbows), which makes the ability of dubious
value since crossbows are not so good.
---MONK------------------------------------------------------------------------
Job Requirements: Knight lv. 3 Movement range : 3
Equippable weapons: none Jump height : 4
Equippable armor: Clothes Physical evade : 20%
Innate ability: Brawler
Stats:
HP: ***** MP: *** Phys. Atk.: ***** Mag. Atk.: ** Speed: ****
--ABILITIES--
--Action Abilities: Martial Arts--
RNG RAD
MP SPD H/V H/V TAR LF JP EFFECT
---------------------------------------------------------------
Cyclone Slf 2/0 Any - 150 Non-elemental attack
Pummel 1/1 1/- Any - 300 Non-elemental attack
Aurablast 3/3 1/- Any Y 300 Non-elemental attack
Shockwave * 4Dir 8/2 Any N 600 Earth attack
Doom Fist 1/0 1/- Any - 300 Causes Doom status (enemy is KOed
after 3 turns)
Purification * Slf 2/0 Any - 200 Removes Stone, Blind, Confuse,
Silence, Berserk, Toad, Poison,
Sleep, Immobilize, Disable
Chakra * Slf 2/0 Any - 350 Restores some HP and MP
Revive * 1/0 1/- Any - 500 Revives KOed character with
minimal HP
--Reaction Abilities--
TRIGGER BRV JP EFFECT
------------------------------------------------------------
Critical:RecoverHP Critical HP Yes 500 Restores HP completely
Counter * Phys. Attack Yes 300 Counter-attack with physical attack
First Strike * Attack command Yes 1300 Cancels enemy's Attack command and
you attack enemy instead (does not
work against monsters)
--Support Abilities--
JP EFFECT
------------------------------------------------------------
Brawler +* 200 Raises unarmed attack strength
--Movement Abilities--
JP EFFECT
------------------------------------------------------------
Lifefont * 300 Restores HP whenever you Move
JP to master: 5300
--MY THOUGHTS--
Monks rock! In my opinion, they have the best selection of abilities in the
game. Shockwave and to a lesser extent Aurablast are decent offensive
abilities. And, they have three healing abilities that don't require any
charge time: Chakra can restore HP *AND* MP to a group, Revive revives KOed
character and usually has an 80+% hit rate, and Purification cures a number of
status changes to a group. Martial Arts is a great command to have as it gives
you both offensive and defensive abilities packed into one ability slot. The
one caveat is that the healing abilities work only over a small vertical range
-- you can't Revive someone at a different height than you, for instance -- so
be mindful of that during battle.
Monks also have great reaction abilities. Counter is a great reaction ability
to have in almost all situations. Getting counterattacks in response to enemy
attacks lets you do a LOT more damage. Against humans, First Strike is even
better since it cancels the enemy's attack outright, but it's not effective
against monster attacks -- so don't use it when you're traveling the map and
will just be facing random battles. Critical: Recover HP can be moderately
useful too since it can restore your HP to full and save a critically wounded
character, but many attacks can KO you outright and never even put you in
critical HP. (So, Counter is usually better.)
Another advantage of Monks is that they have good stats: they have a strong
attack and are pretty speedy. Consider pairing their attack with the Ninja's
Dual Wield to get two punches and double your damage! Their only weakness is
that they can't equip much in the way of armor, but Equip Heavy Armor can be a
good remedy for that.
---WHITE MAGE------------------------------------------------------------------
Job Requirements: Chemist lv. 2 Movement range : 3
Equippable weapons: Staves Jump height : 3
Equippable armor: Hats, clothes, robes Physical evade : 5%
Stats:
HP: ** MP: ***** Phys. Atk.: *** Mag. Atk.: *** Speed: ****
--ABILITIES--
--Action Abilities: White Magicks--
RNG RAD
MP SPD H/V H/V TAR LF JP EFFECT
---------------------------------------------------------------
Cure * 6 RA 25 4/* 2/1 Any N 50 Restores HP
Cura * 10RA 20 4/* 2/1 Any N 180 Restores HP (more)
Curaga 16RA 15 4/* 2/2 Any N 450 Restores HP (even more)
Curaja 20RA 10 4/* 2/3 Any N 800 Restores HP (best)
Raise * 10RA 25 4/* 1/- Any N 200 Revives KOed character with
minimal HP
Arise * 20RA 10 4/* 1/- Any N 600 Revives KOed character with full
HP
Reraise * 16RA 15 3/* 1/- Any N 1000 Gives Reraise status
(automatically return once
from KO)
Regen * 8 RA 25 3/* 2/0 Any N 350 Gives Regen status (restores HP
each turn)
Protect 6 RA 25 3/* 2/0 Any N 70 Gives Protect status (decreases
physical damage received)
Protectja 24 15 3/* 2/3 Any N 600 Gives Protect status
Shell 6 RA 25 3/* 2/0 Any N 70 Gives Shell status (decreases
magick damage received)
Shellja 20 15 3/* 2/3 Any N 600 Gives Shell status
Wall 24RA 25 3/* 1/- Any N 400 Gives both Protect and Shell
status
Esuna 18RA 34 3/* 2/2 Any N 300 Cures Stone, Blind, Blind,
Confuse, Silence, Berserk,
Toad, Poison, Sleep,
Immobilize, and/or Disable
Holy 56RA 17 5/* 1/- Any N 600 Holy attack
--Reaction Abilities--
TRIGGER BRV JP EFFECT
------------------------------------------------------------
Regenerate * Any HP loss Yes 400 Gain Regen status (restores HP each
turn)
--Support Abilities--
JP EFFECT
------------------------------------------------------------
Arcane Defense * 400 Lowers damage received from magick
--Movement Abilities--
none
JP to master: 7070
--MY THOUGHTS--
White Mages are, of course, a healing oriented job; Holy is their only real
offensive spell. However, they tend not to be as effective on defense as
Chemists, since their spells consume MP and need time to charge up. The charge
time is particularly problematic if an ally has just been hit for a lot of
damage and you need to patch him/her up right away -- you might not have time
to wait!
What's GOOD about White Mages? Well, they can heal more than one character at
a time (since most of their spells affect more than one tile). They can cast a
few other "buffing" spells like Protect and Shell, though note these buffs can
miss if you have low faith or magick power! Their Arise spell is also capable
of restoring a character at full HP, which Phoenix Down or a Monk's Revive
cannot do. They're also the fastest of the mage jobs.
Overall, though, the charge times and MP costs associated with White Magick
make Chemists a better choice. If you're likely to get any use out of White
Mages, it's probably in the early stages of the game, when you'll frequently
face barrages of weak attacks spread out against your team. Then, the ability
to heal multiple characters at once is important.
White Magick can also be used an offensive weapon against undead enemies,
though there aren't too many undead enemies and most are pretty easy anyway.
Besides, you can use Chemists' Items to hurt undead enemies too!
---BLACK MAGE------------------------------------------------------------------
Job Requirements: Chemist lv. 2 Movement range : 3
Equippable weapons: Rods Jump height : 3
Equippable armor: Hats, clothes, robes Physical evade : 5%
Stats:
HP: ** MP: ***** Phys. Atk.: ** Mag. Atk.: ***** Speed: ***
--ABILITIES--
--Action Abilities: Black Magicks--
RNG RAD
MP SPD H/V H/V TAR LF JP EFFECT
---------------------------------------------------------------
Fire * 6 RA 25 4/* 2/1 All N 50 Fire attack
Fira * 12RA 20 4/* 2/2 All N 200 Fire attack (stronger)
Firaga * 24RA 15 4/* 2/3 All N 500 Fire attack (even stronger)
Firaja 48 10 4/* 3/3 All N 900 Fire attack (strongest)
Thunder * 6 RA 25 4/* 2/1 All N 50 Lightning attack
Thundara 10RA 20 4/* 2/2 All N 200 Lightning attack (stronger)
Thundaga * 24RA 15 4/* 2/3 All N 500 Lightning attack (even stronger)
Thundaja 48 10 4/* 3/3 All N 900 Lightning attack (strongest)
Blizzard * 6 RA 25 4/* 2/1 All N 50 Ice attack
Blizzara * 12RA 20 4/* 2/2 All N 200 Ice attack (stronger)
Blizzaga * 24RA 15 4/* 2/3 All N 500 Ice attack (even stronger)
Blizzaja 48 10 4/* 3/3 All N 900 Ice attack (strongest)
Poison 6 RA 34 4/* 2/2 All N 150 Causes Poison status
Toad 12RA 20 3/* 1 All N 500 Causes Toad status, or cures Toad
status if target already a Toad
Death 24RA 10 4/* 1 All N 600 Instant KO
Flare 60RA 15 5/1 1 All N 1000 Non-elemental attack
--Reaction Abilities--
TRIGGER BRV JP EFFECT
------------------------------------------------------------
Magick Counter * Magick attack Yes 800 Counterattack w/ same spell
--Support Abilities--
JP EFFECT
------------------------------------------------------------
Arcane Strength 400 Raises magick damage
--Movement Abilities--
none
JP to master: 8400
--MY THOUGHTS--
When it comes to magick, Black Mages are the mythril standard -- they have a
lot of MP (second only to Summoner in standard jobs, and third to Summoners
and Beowulf's Templar job overall), and THE highest magick strength of any job.
Plus, they can equip rods that boost their magick abilities even further, and
their Arcane Strength makes their magick do more damage. In other words, the
magick abilities of other jobs get even stronger when used by a Black Mage --
so a great strategy is to learn spells from other jobs, then turn your
characters into Black Mages. (Or, even better, learn Arithmeticks and then
turn into a Black Mage so you can cast ALL spells at high power!) They're the
best magick job available.
So, how about Black Mages' own spells? Well, Black Magick tend to be pretty
useful--especially early in the game, when you have few other abilities that
can attack multiple enemies. Against monsters, you can also use Black Magick
to exploit their elemental weaknesses (check the Monsters section below to see
what they are).
Later in the game, Black Magick isn't quite as effective since you have other
ways of attacking groups of enemies that don't consume MP and don't need to
charge (e.g., sword techniques, Iaido). Plus, the strongest Black Magick
spells take a while charge, although the Time Mage's Swiftness support ability
is one remedy for this -- or you could use Arithmeticks, which lets you cast
spells without charge time. Note that the -ja spells CANNOT be used with
Arithmeticks, so if you're using Arithmeticks, you'll probably want to learn
Flare first. (On the other hand, -ja spells can't be reflected, so even if
an enemy has Reflect, you can use -ja spells to still attack with magick.)
Magick Counter is also a good reaction ability when faced when lots of enemy
mages.
---TIME MAGE-------------------------------------------------------------------
Job Requirements: Black Mage lv. 3 Movement range : 3
Equippable weapons: Staves Jump height : 3
Equippable armor: Hats, clothes, robes Physical evade : 5%
Stats:
HP: ** MP: ***** Phys. Atk.: * Mag. Atk.: **** Speed: ***
--ABILITIES--
--Action Abilities: Time Magicks--
RNG RAD
MP SPD H/V H/V TAR LF JP EFFECT
---------------------------------------------------------------
Haste * 8 RA 50 3/* 2/0 Any N 100 Causes Haste status
Hasteja 30 15 3/* 2/3 Any N 600 Causes Haste status
Slow * 8 RA 50 3/* 2/0 Any N 80 Causes Slow status
Slowja 30RA 15 3/* 2/3 Any N 600 Causes Slow status
Stop * 14RA 15 3/* 2/0 Any N 350 Causes Stop status
Immobilize * 10RA 34 3/* 2/1 Any N 100 Causes Immobilize status
Float 8 RA 50 4/* 2/1 Any N 200 Causes Float status
Reflect * 12RA 50 4/* 1 Any N 300 Causes Reflect status
Quick * 24R 25 4/* 1 Any N 900 Fills CT gauge - instant turn!
Gravity 24RA 17 4/* 2/1 Any N 250 Damage = 1/4 of user's max HP
Graviga 50RA 10 4/* 2/3 Any N 550 Damage = 1/2 of user's max HP
Meteor 70 5 4/* 4/3 Any N 1500 Non-elemental magick attack
--Reaction Abilities--
TRIGGER BRV JP EFFECT
----------------------------------------------------------
Critical: Quick * Critical HP Yes 800 Fills CT gauge to 100; instant turn!
Mana Shield * Any HP loss No 400 Damage dealt only to MP instead of
HP as long as MP >0
--Support Abilities--
JP EFFECT
----------------------------------------------------------
Swiftness * 1000 Speeds spell/ability charge time
--Movement Abilities--
----------------------------------------------------------
Teleport 650 Teleport to any square when moving
regardless of move range or
obstacles in the way. Chance of
failure increases with longer move
distance.
Levitate 540 Permanent Float status
JP to master: 8920
--MY THOUGHTS--
Time Mages mostly play a support role, casting spells to assist allies or keep
the enemies from acting. These abilities can be quite useful, but it's
probably a good idea to have another ability ready set from another job (e.g.
another magick command) to supplement them with more conventional offense or
defense. Having good magick stats (Magick Attack and Faith) is also important
so that your Hastes and Slows are likely to succeed.
Meteor and the Gravity spells can also be good attack spells, but they can be
somewhat slow, especially Meteor. Try first casting Immobilize to keep enemies
from running out of your way out of your Meteor. The Time Mage's own Swiftness
support ability also speeds the charge time of these spells. It's good for
Time Magicks as well as for Summons and Cloud's Limit attacks.
A great ability to transfer to other jobs is the Mana Shield reaction ability,
which makes all damage go to your MP instead of your HP as long as you have at
least 1 MP. This isn't so good for magick users since it quickly drains your
MP, but it can be great on physical fighters who weren't going to use their MP
anyway -- especially if you pair it with Manafont or another ability that lets
you recover MP quickly. Mana Shield is also very helpful in surviving the
Zodiark summon in order to learn it (see Summoner, below).
On the other hand, the Teleport movement ability isn't quite as great as it
seems. While you can conceivably warp long distances with it, the further
you're teleporting, the greater the likelihood the teleport will fail and
you'll end up back where you started, unable to move at all that turn.
---SUMMONER--------------------------------------------------------------------
Job Requirements: Time Mage lv. 3 Movement range : 3
Equippable weapons: Staves, rods Jump height : 3
Equippable armor: Hats, clothes, robes Physical evade : 5%
Stats:
HP: ** MP: ***** Phys. Atk.: * Mag. Atk.: **** Speed: ***
--ABILITIES--
--Action Abilities: Summon--
RNG RAD
MP SPD H/V H/V TAR LF JP EFFECT
---------------------------------------------------------------
Moogle 8 34 4/* 3/2 Ally N 110 Restores HP
Shiva 24 15 4/* 3/2 Foe N 200 Ice magick attack
Ramuh * 24 15 4/* 3/2 Foe N 200 Lightning magick attack
Ifrit 24 15 4/* 3/2 Foe N 200 Fire magick attack
Titan * 30 10 4/* 3/2 Foe N 220 Earth magick attack
Golem * 40 25 All allies N 500 Blocks physical attacks targeting
allies until its HP damage
limit is reached
Carbuncle 30 20 4/* 3/2 Ally N 350 Gives Reflect status
Bahamut 60 7 4/* 4/3 Foe N 1600 Non-elemental attack
Odin 50 8 4/* 4/3 Foe N 900 Non-elemental attack
Leviathan 48 8 4/* 4/3 Foe N 860 Water attack
Salamander 48 8 4/* 3/2 Foe N 860 Fire attack
Sylph * 26 15 4/* 3/2 Foe N 400 Causes Silence status
Faerie * 28 15 4/* 3/2 Ally N 400 Restores HP
Lich * 40 10 4/* 3/2 Foe N 600 Dark attack
Cyclops 62 9 4/* 3/2 Foe N 1000 Non-elemental attack
Zodiark * 99 6 4/* 4/3 Foe N n/a Non-elemental attack
--Reaction Abilities--
TRIGGER BRV JP EFFECT
----------------------------------------------------------
Critical:Recover MP Critical HP Yes 400 Restores MP to maximum
--Support Abilities--
JP EFFECT
----------------------------------------------------------
Halve MP * 1000 Halves MP cost of abilities
--Movement Abilities--
none
JP to master: 9800
--MY THOUGHTS--
While summons don't have quite the power in FF Tactics as they do in some other
FF games, they're still strong. Plus, they have a wide effect radius, and,
unlike Black and White Magick, don't hurt your teammates or heal the enemies.
The Summon command also offers you a nice mix of both offensive abilities and a
few defensive ones: Moogle and Faerie restore HP, and the very useful Golem
summon blocks all enemy physical attacks for a while. The Lich summon is also
particularly effective against many of the game's major bosses, who are weak to
Dark.
The disadvantages of Summons are that they take quite a while to charge and
cost a fair amount of MP. The former could be remedied with the Time Mage's
Swiftness ability, which shortens charge time. MP costs can be dealt with
using the Summoner's own Halve MP support ability to decrease MP costs, with
equipment that boosts your max MP (all robes, and some hats), or with the
Chemists's Ethers & Hi-Ethers. There are also some abilities that let you gain
MP from your enemies: The Mystic's Absorb MP lets you absorb MP from enemy
spells, or you could also pair Summon with Mystic Arts to use Empowerment to
steal enemy's MP. (Orlandeau's Duskblade and Beowulf's Syphon can also steal
MP.) Unfortunately, you can't equip *both* Swiftness and Halve MP as they use
the same support ability slot, but you could pair Swiftness with MP-boosting
equipment, Items, Empowerment, or Absorb MP.
The Zodiark summon cannot be purchased with JP; it must be learned from the
boss on the last floor of the bonus dungeon. See the Midlight's Deep battle
strategies for more tips on how to learn it.
---THIEF-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Job Requirements: Archer lv. 3 Movement range : 4
Equippable weapons: Knives Jump height : 4
Equippable armor: Hats, clothes Physical evade : 25%
Stats:
HP: *** MP: * Phys. Atk.: **** Mag. Atk.: * Speed: ****
--ABILITIES--
--Action Abilities: Steal--
RNG RAD
MP SPD H/V H/V TAR LF JP EFFECT
---------------------------------------------------------------
Steal Gil 1/1 1/- Foe - 10 Steal small amount of gil
Steal Heart * 3/1 1/- Foe N 150 Causes Charm on target of
opposite sex (human targets
only)
Steal Helm * 1/1 1/- Foe - 350 Steal target's helmet
Steal Armor * 1/1 1/- Foe - 450 Steal target's armor
Steal Shield * 1/1 1/- Foe - 350 Steal target's shield
Steal Weapon * 1/1 1/- Foe - 600 Steal target's weapon
Steal Accessory 1/1 1/- Foe - 500 Steal target's accessory
Steal EXP 1/1 1/- Foe - 250 Steal target's current EXP
--Reaction Abilities--
TRIGGER BRV JP EFFECT
----------------------------------------------------------
Vigilance Any HP loss Yes 200 Enter into "Defend" state (raises
defense vs. physical attacks)
Gil Snapper Any HP loss 200 Receive gil equal to HP lost
Sticky Fingers Throw 200 Blocks Ninja's Throw attack; thrown
item is added to your inventory!
--Support Abilities--
JP EFFECT
----------------------------------------------------------
Poach * 200 Monsters KOed with physical attack
are poached and disappear from the
map; item becomes available at
Poachers' Den
--Movement Abilities--
JP EFFECT
----------------------------------------------------------
Move +2 * 560 Movement range + 2
Jump +2 500 Jump height + 2
JP to master: 4520
--MY THOUGHTS--
Thieves are poor at magick and only moderately strong physically. But, boy,
are they fast! Their movement range and jump height are both 4, so they can
get across the map quickly.
This job is useful mainly for its abilities. Stealing your opponents'
equipment not only cripples them, but adds items to your inventory--and this is
the best way to get a number of rare items! If you like getting rare items,
you'll also want Poach; many pieces of equipment can only be obtained through
poaching monsters. (A side note about Poach: this also has the advantage of
removing monsters' bodies from the map, preventing them from getting revived.)
You could just learn the crucial Steal abilities and then move onto other job.
Ninja, in particular, might be a good to graduate your Thief too, since the
success of Steal is affected by your speed--and Ninjas are even faster than
Thieves!
When Thieves aren't stealing, they can also fight. Since they can only equip
knives, though, their offense can be somewhat weak on its own. You may want to
use an ability like Equip Axes or Equip Swords to bolster their offense.
Move +2 is also a great movement ability and makes characters quite a bit more
mobile. Note that this ability supercedes the Squire's Move +1 in every way
-- there's absolutely no trade-off or downside to selecting Move +2 over Move
+1 once you've learned +2.
The Thief's reaction abilities, on the other hand, tend not to be too useful.
Gil Snapper is worthless as the amount of gil you receive from it is so small--
the same goes for Steal Gil. Sticky Fingers is not particularly useful for the
bulk of the game as you won't fight too many Ninjas, but can be used in the
optional sidequests to harvest rare weapons from high-level enemy Ninjas. So,
again, if you like rare items, Thief is your job :)
---ORATOR----------------------------------------------------------------------
Job Requirements: Mystic lv. 3 Movement range : 3
Equippable weapons: Knives, guns Jump height : 3
Equippable armor: Hats, clothes, robes Physical evade : 5%
Innate ability: Beast Tongue
Stats:
HP: *** MP: *** Phys. Atk.: *** Mag. Atk.: ** Speed: ***
--ABILITIES--
--Action Abilities: Speechcraft--
RNG RAD
MP SPD H/V H/V TAR LF JP EFFECT
---------------------------------------------------------------
Entice * 3/3 1/- Foe N 100 Enemies join party
Stall 3/3 1/- Any N 100 Resets target's CT
Praise 3/3 1/- Any N 200 Raises Bravery by 4 #
Intimidate * 3/3 1/- Any N 200 Lowers Bravery by 4 #
Preach 3/3 1/- Any N 200 Raises Faith by 4 #
Enlighten * 3/3 1/- Any N 200 Lowers Faith by 4 #
Condemn 3/3 1/- Any N 500 Causes Doom status (enemy is KOed
after 3 turns)
Beg 3/3 1/- Foe N 100 Receive gil from enemy
Insult 3/3 1/- Any N 300 Causes Berserk status
Mimic Darlavon 3/3 2/* Any N 300 Causes Sleep status
# Note: These abilities change Faith or Bravery by 4. 3 points of this change
remains only for the battle, but 1 is permanent.
--Reaction Abilities--
TRIGGER BRV JP EFFECT
----------------------------------------------------------
Earplug Speechcraft Yes 300 Cancels Speechcraft ability used on
character
--Support Abilities--
JP EFFECT
----------------------------------------------------------
Equip Guns +* 800 Can equip guns regardless of job
Tame 500 Physical attacks will recruit
monsters if they have critical HP
Beast Tongue +* 100 Can use Speechcraft against monsters
--Movement Abilities--
none
JP to master: 3900
--MY THOUGHTS--
Like Time Mages, Orators play a supplementary role. One of their main purpose
is to recruit enemy units -- if you want to recruit monsters on this team, you
need this job! (To recruit monsters, either use Entice + Beast Tongue, or
equip Tame and hit monsters with a physical attack.)
Equip Guns is the other key Orator ability. While Orators can equip guns
naturally, Equip Guns lets you transfer this ability to other jobs. Having the
long range of a gun is handy for "support" jobs that aren't going to be on the
front lines.
Finally, the Orator lets you play with Bravery and Faith statistics. Boosting
your Bravery is particularly useful as it increases your attack strength and
makes your Reaction Ability more likely to activate -- and has no side effects.
However, you can just as easily raise your Bravery with Ramza's Steel ability,
which also has the advantage that it never misses. Since Faith controls both
the damage you deal with magick and receive from enemy magick, it can also be
advantageous to raise your magick users' Faith (making them stronger) and lower
everyone else's Faith (since they won't be using, decreasing their Faith makes
enemy magick less effective). It's not essential to tweak your Bravery and
Faith like this, but if you DO want to do so, a good tactic is to do it in a
random battle against weaker monsters (e.g. at Mandalia Plain), where you can
use Speechcraft with less enemy interference. A tough story battle is not a
good place to grind Bravery and Faith.
You can safely skip Earplug since you'll face enemy Orators only very rarely.
---MYSTIC----------------------------------------------------------------------
Job Requirements: White Mage lv. 3 Movement range : 3
Equippable weapons: Staves, rods, poles, books Jump height : 3
Equippable armor: Hats, clothes, robes Physical evade : 5%
Stats:
HP: ** MP: **** Phys. Atk.: * Mag. Atk.: **** Speed: ***
--ABILITIES--
--Action Abilities: Mystic Arts--
RNG RAD
MP SPD H/V H/V TAR LF JP EFFECT
---------------------------------------------------------------
Umbra 4 RA 50 4/* 2/1 Any N 100 Causes Blind status
Empowerment * 2 50 4/* 1/- Any N 200 Drain 1/3 of MP from target
Invigoration 16 50 4/* 1/- Any N 350 Drain 1/4 of HP from target
Belief * 6 RA 25 4/* 1/- Any N 400 Causes Faith status
Disbelief * 6 RA 25 4/* 1/- Any N 400 Causes Atheist status
Corruption 20RA 20 4/* 1/- Any N 300 Causes Undead status
Quiescence 16RA 34 4/* 1/- Any N 170 Causes Silence status
Fervor 16RA 20 4/* 1/- Any N 400 Causes Berserk status
Trepidation * 20RA 25 4/* 1/- Any N 200 Lowers target's Bravery
Delirium 20RA 20 4/* 1/- Any N 400 Causes Confusion status
Harmony 34 A 34 4/* 1/- Any N 800 Removes positive status effects
Hesitation * 10RA 20 4/* 2/0 Any N 100 Causes Disable status
Repose 24RA 17 4/* 2/1 Any N 350 Causes Sleep status
Induration 16RA 10 4/* 1/- Any N 600 Causes Stone status
--Reaction Abilities--
TRIGGER BRV JP EFFECT
----------------------------------------------------------
Absorb MP Magick Yes 250 Gain MP equal to MP cost of spell
--Support Abilities--
JP EFFECT
----------------------------------------------------------
Defense Boost * 400 Lowers physical damage received
--Movement Abilities--
JP EFFECT
----------------------------------------------------------
Ignore Weather 200 Move through swamps at normal speed
even if it's raining; cancels
weather effects on Black Magick
Manafont 350 Restores some MP whenever you move
JP to master: 5970
--MY THOUGHTS--
Mystics specialize in inflicting status conditions on their foes. These spells
often fail, so if you want to use this job, a character with high Faith is
necessary to increase your success rate. In general, though, Mystic is just
not a very useful job. They don't have much in the way of direct offense or
defense, and their status affliction spells just aren't useful enough to
compensate for their charge time, MP cost, and success rate. Mustadio and,
later, Beowulf are much more effective at inflicting these kinds of status
conditions.
Defense Boost can be a somewhat useful support ability, however.
---GEOMANCER-------------------------------------------------------------------
Job Requirements: Monk lv. 4 Movement range : 4
Equippable weapons: Swords, axes Jump height : 3
Equippable armor: Shields, hats, clothes, robes Physical evade : 10%
Stats:
HP: *** MP: **** Phys. Atk.: **** Mag. Atk.: *** Speed: ***
--ABILITIES--
--Action Abilities: Geomancy--
RNG RAD
MP SPD H/V H/V TAR LF JP EFFECT
---------------------------------------------------------------
Sinkhole * 5/* 2/0 Any N 150 Non-elemental attack, causes
Immobilize
Torrent 5/* 2/0 Any N 150 Water attack, causes Toad
Tanglevine * 5/* 2/0 Any N 150 Non-elemental attack, causes Stop
Contortion * 5/* 2/0 Any N 150 Non-elemental attack, causes
Stone
Tremor 5/* 2/0 Any N 150 Earth attack, causes Confusion
Wind Slash * 5/* 2/0 Any N 150 Wind attack, causes Disable
Will-o'-the-Wisp * 5/* 2/0 Any N 150 Fire attack, causes Sleep
Quicksand 5/* 2/0 Any N 150 Water attack, causes Doom
Sandstorm 5/* 2/0 Any N 150 Wind attack, causes Blind
Snowstorm 5/* 2/0 Any N 150 Ice attack, causes Silence
Wind Blast 5/* 2/0 Any N 150 Wind attack, causes Slow
Magma Surge 5/* 2/0 Any N 150 Fire attack, instant KO
Note: During battle, only one Geomancy ability is available for use at any
given time. The available ability is determined by the terrain type of the
tile on which the user is standing. See the Geomancy Chart in Reference for
information on which terrain types allow which abilities.
--Reaction Abilities--
TRIGGER BRV JP EFFECT
----------------------------------------------------------
Nature's Wrath Phys. attack Yes 300 Counter using Geomancy command
or Geomancy
--Support Abilities--
JP EFFECT
----------------------------------------------------------
Attack Boost * 400 Raises physical damage
--Movement Abilities--
JP EFFECT
----------------------------------------------------------
Ignore Terrain 220 Moving through water does not
decrease movement range
Lavawalking 150 Can move across and stop on lava
tiles
JP to master: 2870
--MY THOUGHTS--
Geomancers are sort of a hybrid physical/magick job -- they're pretty decent
fighters, and can also do long-range elemental and status attacks with their
Geomancy. When the Geomancer job first becomes available, it can be quite
useful. Geomancy doesn't cost any MP and activates instantly, and it can hit a
group of enemies. Unfortunately, as the game progresses, the damage inflicted
by Geomancy doesn't keep pace with enemy HP, and they quickly become less
useful. Plus, there's also the disadvantage that you don't have much choice
over the Geomancy attacks available at any given time -- at most, you can
choose between two or three different attacks by moving to tiles with different
terrain. You can't really choose a specific kind of status condition to
inflict.
Attack Boost, however, remains a great support ability throughout the game
and useful for any fighting-oriented job. It increases the power not just of
the Attack command, but other "special" physical attacks like sword techniques.
Lavawalking is the game's most singularly useless ability, as only a single,
optional map has lava on it, and it's usually a fairly easy battle anyway.
But, hey, it's only 150 JP, what a steal!
---DRAGOON---------------------------------------------------------------------
Job Requirements: Thief lv. 4 Movement range : 3
Equippable weapons: Polearms Jump height : 4
Equippable armor: Shields, helms, armor, robes Physical evade : 10%
Stats:
HP: **** MP: * Phys. Atk.: **** Mag. Atk.: * Speed: ***
--ABILITIES--
--Action Abilities: Jump--
RNG RAD
MP SPD H/V H/V TAR JP EFFECT
---------------------------------------------------------------
Horizontal Jump 2 * 150 Extends horizontal range of Jump to
2 or fewer tiles
Horizontal Jump 3 350 Extends horizontal range of Jump to
3 or fewer tiles
Horizontal Jump 4 550 Extends horizontal range of Jump to
4 or fewer tiles
Horizontal Jump 5 800 Extends horizontal range of Jump to
5 or fewer tiles
Horizontal Jump 8 * 1100 Extends horizontal range of Jump to
8 or fewer tiles
Vertical Jump 2 * 100 Extends vertical range of Jump to 2
Vertical Jump 3 250 Extends vertical range of Jump to 3
Vertical Jump 4 400 Extends vertical range of Jump to 4
Vertical Jump 5 550 Extends vertical range of Jump to 5
Vertical Jump 6 700 Extends vertical range of Jump to 6
Vertical Jump 7 * 1000 Extends vertical range of Jump to 7
Vertical Jump 8 1500 Extends vertical range of Jump to 8
The Jump command causes the user to temporarily disappear from the battlefield
(by jumping off the screen). On return, the user strikes the targeted unit
with a physical attack, then bounces back to his/her original tile. All the
action abilities simply extend the maximum horizontal or vertical range of this
attack. The speed of a Jump is equal to twice the user's Speed statistic.
Jump does NOT require an unobstructed line of fire. (Note that the unit's tile
cannot be moved into while s/he is off the screen.)
--Reaction Abilities--
TRIGGER BRV JP EFFECT
----------------------------------------------------------
Dragonheart * Phys. Attack Yes 600 Cast Reraise on self (return once
from KO automatically)
--Support Abilities--
JP EFFECT
----------------------------------------------------------
Equip Polearms + 400 Can equip Polearms regardless of job
--Movement Abilities--
JP EFFECT
----------------------------------------------------------
Ignore Elevation * 700 Infinite jump height in movement
JP to master: 9150
--MY THOUGHTS--
Dragoons are sort of a souped-up Knight. They have comparable HP and attack
power, can equip armor, and their polearms have a range of two tiles. Dragoons
also have the Jump attack, which is quite effective. It does a good amount of
damage, potentially has a HUGE range (if you've learned the right abilities),
and puts the Dragoon temporarily out of damage. Just be sure to check the
enemy CT and don't target anyone who is about to get a turn (i.e., CT close to
100), 'cause they can move out of the way and cancel your Jump attack!
A tip about learning the Jump action abilities: Each Horizontal Jump or
Vertical Jump ability replaces all the ones below it. In other words, if you
have Horizontal Jump 8, you can do a jump of 1-8 panels; you don't need to
learn any other remaining Horizontal Jumps. So, a good strategy is to just
learn a couple of the early Horizontal and Vertical Jump abilities (like
2 or 3) to give yourself a decent Jump, then save up your JP for Horizontal
Jump 8 and Vertical Jump 7 or 8. Once you get those, your Jump attack will be
amazing! Don't waste your JP building up your range one ability at a time.
(Horizontal Jump 8 is more advantageous to learn first because in most cases
you don't need that great a vertical range to your jump, anyways.)
Both Ignore Elevation and Dragonheart are also great abilities. Ignore
Elevation completely changes how can you move around certain maps; for
instance, you can jump right up a castle wall to attack the Archers up there,
or take a shortcut over the side of a cliff. This can be very helpful in a
number of story battles as it lets you get the jump on enemy range attackers.
And, of course, Dragonheart gives you a Reraise when attacked -- I'm sure you
can see the value in that :)
---SAMURAI---------------------------------------------------------------------
Job Requirements: Knight lv. 4, Monk lv. 5, Movement range : 3
Dragoon lv. 2 Jump height : 3
Equippable weapons: Katanas Physical evade : 20%
Equippable armor: Helms, armor, robes
Stats:
HP: ** MP: **** Phys. Atk.: ***** Mag. Atk.: *** Speed: ***
--ABILITIES--
--Action Abilities: Iaido--
RNG RAD
MP SPD H/V H/V TAR LF JP EFFECT
---------------------------------------------------------------
Ashura Slf 3/3 Foe N 100 "Spirit Blade": Non-elemental
attack
Kotetsu Slf 3/3 Foe N 200 "Binding Darkness": Non-elemental
attack
Osafune Slf 3/3 Foe N 300 "Verse of Oblivion": Lowers enemy
MP
Murasame * Slf 3/3 Ally N 400 "Rain of Wisdom": Restores HP
Ama-no-Murakumo * Slf 3/3 Foe N 500 "Cloudsea Curse": Non-elemental
attack, causes Slow
Kiyomori Slf 3/3 Ally N 600 "Purifying Breeze": Gives Protect
and Shell status
Muramasa * Slf 3/3 Foe N 700 "Doomed Aspirations": Non-
elemental attack, causes
Confusion and Doom
Kiku-ichimonji 4Dir 8/3 Foe N 800 "Sanguine Blossom": Non-elemental
attack
Masamune Slf 3/3 Ally N 900 "Ethereal Embrace": Gives Regen
and Haste status
Chirijiraden Slf 3/3 Foe N 1000 "Raging Inferno": Non-elemental
attack
Iaido abilities can only be used if you possess the corresponding katana in
your inventory (NOT equipped on the character). There is a chance that the
katana will break when the ability is used. Aside from the Masamune and
Chirijiraden, all of the katanas can be purchased at the Outfitter, although
some do not become available until later in the game.
When Iaido abilities are used, a special attack name (not just the name of the
sword) is displayed -- these are listed in quotation marks above.
--Reaction Abilities--
TRIGGER BRV JP EFFECT
----------------------------------------------------------
Bonecrusher Critical HP Yes 200 Counterattack and do damage equal to
your own maximum HP
Shirahadori * Phys. Attack Yes 700 Evade physical attacks. Does not
work against bows and crossbows,
but DOES work against guns!
--Support Abilities--
JP EFFECT
----------------------------------------------------------
Equip Katana + 400 Can equip Katanas regardless of job
Doublehand 900 Equip one weapon in two hands to
increase damage dealt
--Movement Abilities--
JP EFFECT
---------------------------------------------------------
Swim 300 Can move and act even in water of
depth = 2 (i.e., water up to your
head)
JP to master: 8000
--MY THOUGHTS--
Somewhat like the Monk and Summoner, Iaido nicely mixes both offense and
healing. Murasame in particular is a GREAT healing ability, since it restores
HP to a large group and requires no charge time. Masamune is in theory also
very useful as it casts Regen and Haste to a group of characters, but its value
is more limited in practice since Masamunes are pretty hard to get.
Unfortunately, the downside to Iaido is that the katana have a tendency to
break pretty frequently, which means that this job expensive quickly. (Why,
it's almost like Samurai were throwing money at their enemies!) This means
Iaido actually tends to get more useful later on, when you have more spare cash
for katana. If you want to use a particular Iaido ability, bringing a couple
of copies of that katana into battle is a pretty good ability.
Perhaps the best Samurai ability, then, is Shirahadori, which pumps up your
evade rate in accordance with your Bravery. With a high Bravery, you can be
virtually invulnerable to physical attacks! This is one of the best reaction
abilities in the game and definitely worth learning.
Note that the Samurai only has modest stats. They have limited HP, although
they can equip heavy armor to boost it. Their attack is pretty good, but since
they only have one katana for a weapon, they falter in comparison to the Ninja
(which gets TWO weapons) or the Knight (which can use knight's swords). Sure,
you can equip Doublehand to increase your attack power, but that uses up your
support ability slot.
Overall, my feeling is that they're a decent job, but not quite as effective as
Dragoons or (especially) Ninjas.
---NINJA-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Job Requirements: Archer lv. 4, Thief lv. 5, Movement range : 4
Geomancer lv. 2 Jump height : 4
Equippable weapons: Knives, ninja blades, flails Physical evade : 30%
Equippable armor: Hats, clothes
Innate ability: Dual Wield
Stats:
HP: * MP: * Phys. Atk.: **** Mag. Atk.: ** Speed: *****
--ABILITIES--
--Action Abilities: Throw--
RNG RAD
MP SPD H/V H/V TAR LF JP EFFECT
---------------------------------------------------------------
Shuriken * 5/* 1/- Any Y 50 Throw shuriken
Bomb 5/* 1/- Any Y 70 Throw bombs
Knife 5/* 1/- Any Y 100 Throw knives
Sword * 5/* 1/- Any Y 100 Throw swords
Flail * 5/* 1/- Any Y 100 Throw flails
Katana 5/* 1/- Any Y 100 Throw samurai katanas
Ninja Blade 5/* 1/- Any Y 100 Throw ninja blades
Axe 5/* 1/- Any Y 120 Throw axes
Polearm 5/* 1/- Any Y 100 Throw polearms
Pole 5/* 1/- Any Y 100 Throw poles
Knight's Sword 5/* 1/- Any Y 100 Throw knight's swords
Book 5/* 1/- Any Y 100 Throw books
The Throw command allows you to attack by throwing weapons & items from your
inventory. Obviously, the item/weapon is lost when it is thrown.
--Reaction Abilities--
TRIGGER BRV JP EFFECT
----------------------------------------------------------
Vanish Any HP loss Yes 1000 Gain Invisiblity status
Reflexes Any evadable No 400 Doubles existing evade %
attack
--Support Abilities--
JP EFFECT
----------------------------------------------------------
Dual Wield +* 1000 Equip weapons in both hands
Note that the damage estimate for Dual Wielded attacks is just for the FIRST
attack -- if you have a weapon in both hands, the total damage will be much
higher!
--Movement Abilities--
JP EFFECT
---------------------------------------------------------
Waterwalking 420 Stand on surface of water rather
than decreasing height to go
underwater. Can move on top of
deep water without penalty.
JP to master: 4040
--MY THOUGHTS--
With a high speed and attack strength, and the innate ability to wield two
weapons, Ninja make life very dangerous for your opponents. You can do a lot
of damage with two weapons, and their high speed means that Ninjas get to act
first and strike before your enemy does. (Plus, their good movement range
and jump height makes it easy for them to reach enemies.) Ninjas are effective
for sneaking in and taking out enemy archers, gunners, or mages before they can
get a spell or shot off. Overall, Ninja is one of the most effective standard
job. Aim for leveling up Archer and Thief quickly to unlock it!
Throw is also a pretty good action ability. It's not the strongest attack, but
throwing good weapons usually does a fair amount of damage and has a nice
range. The strongest weapon that you can buy to throw is the Morning Star
flail ... well, it's tied with the Slasher axe, but the Slasher costs more
money. Buying weapons does mean that the gil costs of Throw add up, but,
fortunately, you can always switch back to regular attacks since the Ninja's
regular attacks are good too.
Good abilities from other jobs to consider for your Ninja are Steal (Ninjas
have a very high speed, so this makes your steals more effective) and the
Monk's Brawler. Brawler lets you get two punches, which can be an extremely
strong physical attack, especially with high Bravery.
The main weakness of Ninjas (besides pirates) is their physical frailty; they
have very low HP and can't take much damage. This is particularly problematic
if you're using Ninjas to rush in and attack first -- they can get surrounded
and KOed while your other characters catch up. To solve this, you can equip
cloaks or Shirahadori to boost their evade rate, give them an Angel Ring or
Chantage or the Dragonheart reaction ability for a Reraise, or use Equip Heavy
Armor to gain more HP.
Note that Ninjas can equip both ninja blades and flails. Overall, flails are
stronger, but they're also more unpredictable -- sometimes they do MORE than
the estimated damage, sometimes they do LESS. This can be frustrating if
you're trying to finish off a weak enemy and end up not quite doing enough
damage. On the other hand, in the long run, flails DO do more damage. It's
your call whether you want to favor predictability or the
---ARITHMETICIAN---------------------------------------------------------------
Job Requirements: White Mage lv. 5, Black Mage lv. 5, Movement range : 3
Time Mage lv. 4, Mystic lv. 4 Jump height : 3
Equippable weapons: Poles, books Physical evade : 5%
Equippable armor: Hats, clothes, robes
Stats:
HP: * MP: *** Phys. Atk.: * Mag. Atk.: * Speed: *
--ABILITIES--
--Action Abilities: Throw--
RNG RAD
MP SPD H/V H/V TAR LF JP EFFECT
---------------------------------------------------------------
CT n/a Any N 250 Base equations on CT
Level n/a Any N 350 Base equations on level
Exp n/a Any N 200 Base equations on EXP
Height * n/a Any N 250 Base equations on height
Prime * n/a Any N 300 Selects by prime number
Multiple of 5 n/a Any N 200 Selects by multiple of 5
Multiple of 4 * n/a Any N 400 Selects by multiple of 4
Multiple of 3 * n/a Any N 600 Selects by multiple of 3
Each time you use Arithmeticks, you select one from the first four abilities
and one from the second four abilities. This determines what characters the
ability will target. For example, selecting "Height" "Multiple of 5" will
target all characters whose current height on the map is a multiple of 5.
Finally, you select the spell to cast on these targets. Allowable spells are
those marked with an "A" under Black Mage, White Mage, Time Mage, and Mystic
(see above).
--Reaction Abilities--
TRIGGER BRV JP EFFECT
----------------------------------------------------------
Cup of Life HP restore Yes 200 If healing ability used on character
restores more HP than is needed to
return to max HP, the excess HP is
distributed to the rest of the
party
Soulbind * Any HP loss Yes 300 Inflicted damage is divided between
you and the character who
inflicted it
--Support Abilities--
JP EFFECT
----------------------------------------------------------
EXP Boost * 350 Receive more EXP in battle
--Movement Abilities--
JP EFFECT
---------------------------------------------------------
Accrue EXP 400 Earn EXP whenever you move
Accure JP 400 Earn JP whenever you move
JP to master: 4550
--MY THOUGHTS--
Arithmeticians are potentially very powerful. Unlike conventional magick,
Arithmeticks takes no time to charge, can strike all the way across the board,
and costs no MP! By trying different combinations of multiple and
CT/Level/EXP/Height, you can customize exactly who your magick is going to hit.
Note that you can preview who Arithmeticks will hit before you use it. Look
for the characters with yellow targeting tiles at their feet. If you don't
like the combination of targets you're getting, cancel back a few menus and
pick a different match of base and multiple.
The problem is that Arithmeticians also require a LOT of time to build up to
this level of power. First of all, you need to learn spells from the other
magick-using jobs, then you have to learn all the Arithmeticks abilities to
make your targeting flexible. Moreover, Arithmeticians are REALLY pokey and
don't get many turns, making them slow to earn JP. (Giving them an accessory
to boost their speed will help.)
Arithmeticks also have a very low magick strength, so their spells won't be too
effective while they're still an Arithmetician. To remedy this, change the
Arithmetician into a Black Mage after you've learned all their abilities and
set their second action ability to Arithmeticks. In this highly-evolved form,
they can toast enemies around the battlefield or heal your whole party, without
even having to charge or use MP!
In other words, Arithmeticians are great if you want to spend the time to build
them up, but you certainly don't need them to beat the game.
---BARD------------------------------------------------------------------------
Job Requirements: Summoner lv. 5, Orator lv. 5, Movement range : 3
male characters only Jump height : 3
Equippable weapons: Instruments Physical evade : 5%
Equippable armor: Hats, clothes
Stats:
HP: * MP: * Phys. Atk.: * Mag. Atk.: **** Speed: ***
--ABILITIES--
--Action Abilities: Bardsong--
RNG RAD
MP SPD H/V H/V TAR LF JP EFFECT
---------------------------------------------------------------
Seraph Song * 17 All allies N 100 Restores MP
Life's Anthem 17 All allies N 100 Restores HP
Rousing Melody * 13 All allies N 100 Raises speed by 1
Battle Chant * 13 All allies N 100 Raises physical attack power by 1
Magickal Refrain 10 All allies N 100 Raises magick attack power by 1
Nameless Song * 10 All allies N 100 Gives Reraise, Regen, Protect,
Shell, or Haste
Finale * 5 All allies N 100 Fills CT to 100 (instant turn!)
Bardsong abilities activate repeatedly until a new command is entered for the
character. This means that even if you wait out your turns (causing your CT
gauge to fill more quickly), you can keep activating the ability!
--Reaction Abilities--
TRIGGER BRV JP EFFECT
----------------------------------------------------------
Magick Boost Any HP loss Yes 500 Magick attack power + 1
Faith Boost Magick Yes 400 Faith + 3
--Support Abilities--
none
--Movement Abilities--
JP EFFECT
----------------------------------------------------------
Move +3 * 1000 Movement range + 3
Fly 5000 Ignore terrain and obstacles while
moving
JP to master: 7900
--MY THOUGHTS--
Bards can cast a variety of buffs to your whole party, regardless of where the
characters are standing. Boosting your speed and attack/magic power, or
quickly filling your CT gauge, can help your whole team fight more effectively.
On the other hand, Bards can't do much ELSE; they have very little HP or MP and
a weak attack. Also, their buffs don't always succeed and will miss quite a
few of your party members each time they're used.
Bards can learn Fly, which costs an astronomical 5000 JP! The ability to fly
over enemies and obstacles in the terrain is pretty cool; it's sort of a
combination of Ignore Elevation and Teleport. But, it's not worth the JP cost
at all. On the other hand, Move +3 is much more reasonably priced and is
extremely effective for getting around the map quickly! Of course, if you have
Move +3, then Move +1 and Move +2 become completely obsolete.
---DANCER----------------------------------------------------------------------
Job Requirements: Geomancer lv. 5, Dragoon lv. 5, Movement range : 3
female characters only Jump height : 3
Equippable weapons: Knives, cloths Physical evade : 5%
Equippable armor: Hats, clothes
Stats:
HP: * MP: * Phys. Atk.: **** Mag. Atk.: *** Speed: ***
--ABILITIES--
--Action Abilities: Dance--
RNG RAD
MP SPD H/V H/V TAR LF JP EFFECT
---------------------------------------------------------------
Witch Hunt 17 All enemies N 100 Lowers enemy MP
Mincing Minuet 17 All enemies N 100 Lowers enemy HP
Slow Dance * 13 All enemies N 100 Lowers enemy speed by 1
Polka 13 All enemies N 100 Lowers enemy physical attack by 1
Heathen Frolick * 10 All enemies N 100 Lowers enemy magical attack by 1
Forbidden Dance * 10 All enemies N 100 Causes Blind, Confuse, Silence,
Toad, Poison, Slow, Stop, or
Sleep
Last Waltz 5 All enemies N 100 Empties enemy CT
--Reaction Abilities--
TRIGGER BRV JP EFFECT
----------------------------------------------------------
Fury Any HP loss Yes 600 Physical attack power + 1
Bravery Boost Physical atk Yes 700 Bravery + 3
--Support Abilities--
none
--Movement Abilities--
JP EFFECT
----------------------------------------------------------
Jump +3 1000 Jump height + 3
Fly 5000 Can fly over terrain and enemies
JP to master: 8000
--MY THOUGHTS--
Whereas Bards cast buffs to help your entire party, Dancers lower the stats of
the entire party. Mincing Minuet does far too little damage to bother with,
but lowering enemy speed or attack power, or inflicting status conditions with
Forbidden Dance, can be useful.
Dancers tend to be better than Bards. Since there are generally more bad guys
on the map than party members, it's more effective to drop the enemies' stats
than boost your own. Plus, they have a stronger physical attack. Dancers also
work well with the Knight's Parry ability, as their cloth weapons have a VERY
high parry rate (50%).
As with Bard, Fly is definitely not worth 5000 JP ... and Jump +3 is pretty
pointless too, since Ignore Elevation lets you jump even higher and costs
fewer JP! (True, Jump +3 does increase your ability to horizontal jumps, which
Ignore Elevation doesn't, but there are VERY few places where you need to make
long horizontal jumps.)
---MIME------------------------------------------------------------------------
Job Requirements: Squire lv. 8, Chemist lv. 8, Movement range : 4
Summoner lv. 5, Orator lv. 5, Jump height : 4
Geomancer lv. 5, Dragoon lv. 5 Physical evade : 5%
Equippable weapons: None
Equippable armor: None
Stats:
HP: ***** MP: * Phys. Atk.: ***** Mag. Atk.: **** Speed: *****
--ABILITIES--
NO ABILITIES
The Mime mimics every action that your other characters take.
--MY THOUGHTS--
Mimes aren't quite as good as you'd think. They only mimic abilities in the
exact direction and range that they were originally used, which means they
usually miss. However, if you use them very carefully, they can be useful, as
they could potentially double the number of actions you take. Try pairing a
Mime with a Arithmetician -- everything spell the Arithmetician calculates, the
Mime will repeat for twice the effect (of course, you could just make two
Arithmeticians instead...).
---DARK KNIGHT-----------------------------------------------------------------
Job Requirements: Knight MASTERED, Black Mage MASTERED, Movement range : 3
Samurai lv. 8, Ninja lv. 8, Jump height : 3
Geomancer lv. 8, Dragoon lv. 8, Physical evade : 0%
must kill 20 enemies (so that they turn
to chests/crystals) with the character
Equippable weapons: Swords, knight's swords, fell swords, axes, flails
Equippable armor: Shields, helms, clothes, armor, robes
Stats:
HP: *** MP: **** Phys. Atk.: ***** Mag. Atk.: ** Speed: ***
--ABILITIES--
--Action Abilities: Darkness--
RNG RAD
MP SPD H/V H/V TAR LF JP EFFECT
---------------------------------------------------------------
Sanguine Sword * 3/* 1/- Any N 300 Drains HP
Infernal Strike 3/* 1/- Any N 500 Drains MP
Crushing Blow 3/* 1/2 Any N 100 Attack, causes Stop. Element of
this attack is based on element
of user's current weapon.
Abyssal Blade * 3/Cone 3/2 Any N 1200 Non-elemental attack; does more
damage to units closer to
caster. Consumes HP equal to
20% of user's maximum HP
Unholy Sacrifice * Slf 3/3 All N 1200 Dark attack, causes Slow.
Consumes HP equal to 30% of
user's max HP. The greater the
user's max HP, the more damage
this ability does.
--Reaction Abilities--
none
--Support Abilities--
JP EFFECT
----------------------------------------------------------
HP Boost * 2000 Increases maximum HP by 20%
Vehemence * 400 Attack strength up by 50%, but
increases damage received by 50%
--Movement Abilities--
JP EFFECT
---------------------------------------------------------
Move +3# * 1000 Movement range + 3
Jump +3# 1000 Jump height + 3
#: Move +3 is available for female Dark Knights, Jump +3 for males.
JP to master: 6700
--MY THOUGHTS--
Well, Dark Knights are very strong. They have the strongest attack power of
any regular job, can equip knight's swords and heavy armor, and pretty much
all of their abilities are great (though Crushing Blow, Abyssal Blade, and
Unholy Sacrifice are all height-limited). Note that you can negate the HP
costs associated with Abyssal Blade and Unholy Sacrifice by equipping the
Time Mage ability Mana Shield. Dark Knights are also the only job (aside from
Onion Knights, of course) that can equip the fell swords, special weapons found
in the game's multiplayer mode.
So what's the catch? Well, the requirements for this job are also
astronomical. You need to completely master two other jobs (one physical, one
magickal) and get four other jobs up to level 8 ... plus you need to kill
20 enemies with the character. By the time you do all that, you'll probably be
tough enough that you don't even *need* the Dark Knight job!
So, while the Dark Knight is indisputably powerful, it's also quite
unnecessary as far as the completing the single-player mode. It's fun to play
with if you do unlock it, but you definitely don't need to jump through the
hoops if you don't want to.
---ONION KNIGHT----------------------------------------------------------------
Job Requirements: Squire lv. 6, Chemist lv. 6 Movement range : 3
Equippable weapons: All Jump height : 3
Equippable armor: All Physical evade : 5%
Stats:
HP: * MP: * Phys. Atk.: * Mag. Atk.: * Speed: ***
Upon reaching job level 8 (see below), the Onion Knight's stats will increase.
--ABILITIES--
NO ABILITIES
The Onion Knight cannot use any abilities, but can use any kind of equipment.
Even items normally reserved for female characters can be used by male Onion
Knights (and by female Onion Knights, too, of course).
--MY THOUGHTS--
Taken in their base form, Onion Knights seem how exactly how the game describes
them: sad. Sure, they can equip any piece of equipment, but they have
terrible stats and NO abilities. Even if you gave them a good sword and armor,
they'd still be just a weaker Knight with no abilities.
So what's the point of Onion Knights? Well, for every two other jobs you
master, the job level of Onion Knight increases. If you master 16 jobs and
get Onion Knight to job level 8, their stats will see a big increase. (Yes,
mastering 16 jobs is a LOT of abilities to learn.) Also, if you play the
game's multiplayer mode, you can earn the Onion gear, very strong equipment
that can only be used by Onion Knights. With these two things, Onion Knights
can be very strong melee fighters, although they still have no abilities.
If you're only playing the single-player mode, though, the Onion equipment is
inattainable, so there's not much you can do with this job.
%%%SPECIAL JOBS%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00job2
These are special jobs used by specific story characters. They aren't
available to generic characters. In all cases where a story character has a
special job, the special job replaces the Squire job for that character.
All the special jobs have the same reaction, support, and movement abilities as
the Squire job (which they replace). Therefore, I haven't bothered to list
them. The exceptions are the Ark Knight, Automaton, and Byblos jobs, which
do have different abilities.
---SQUIRE [RAMZA]--------------------------------------------------------------
Used By: Ramza Movement range : 4
Equippable weapons: Knives, swords, Jump height : 3
knight's swords (ch. 4), flails Physical evade : 10%
Equippable armor: Shields (ch. 2+), hats, helms (ch. 2+),
clothes, armor (ch. 2+), robes
Stats:
HP: **** MP: **** Phys. Atk.: **** Mag. Atk.: *** Speed: ***
--ABILITIES--
--Action Abilities: Mettle--
RNG RAD
MP SPD H/V H/V TAR LF JP EFFECT
---------------------------------------------------------------
Focus * Slf 1/- Self - 300 Raises physical attack power by 1
for duration of battle
Rush 1/1 1/- Any - 80 Weak physical attack, may knock
enemy back one tile
Stone 4/* 1/- Any Y 90 Weak (ranged) physical attack,
may knock enemy back one tile
Salve 1/2 1/- Any - 150 Cures Blind, Silence, Poison
Tailwind * 3/* 1/- Any N 200 Raises speed by 1 for duration of
battle
Chant * 1/3 1/- Any - 0 Restores HP, Ramza loses HP equal
to 1/2 of amount healed
Steel (ch. 2+) * 3/* 1/- Any N 200 Raises Bravery by 5 #
Shout (ch. 4) * Slf 1/- Self - 500 Raises Bravery by 10 #, physical
and magick strength by 1, speed
by 1
Ultima (ch. 4) 10 20 4/* 2/1 Any N N/A Non-elemental magick attack
JP to master: 2570
# Note: These abilities increase your Bravery. Most of this change remains
only for the battle, but for every 4 points you increase your Bravery during
battle, you get a 1 point permanent increase in Braver.
Ultima can only be learned by having Luso or an enemy cast it on Ramza; see the
"Learning Ultima" section under Various Tricks for more information on this.
--MY THOUGHTS--
Ramza's Squire job is powered up quite a bit relative to a regular Squire. He
has better stats, some extra abilities, and he can equip knight's swords and
heavy armor. (Unlike a regular Squire, though, he can't use axes, oddly
enough.)
Most of Ramza's extra abilities are quite useful. Tailwind is a speed boost,
Steel is a Bravery boost, and Shout raises all stats but only works on Ramza.
Steel is particulary useful as it's a good way of permanently adding to your
Bravery; it has a 100% hit rate and costs no MP. Whenever Ramza has a spare
turn, it's a good idea to have him use Steel to boost a teammate's Bravery (or
Shout to boost his own); increasing your Bravery can make your reaction
abilities much more effective. In a pinch, Chant is good for healing too. On
the other hand, the Ultima spell is actually pretty weak, especially given that
you have to go out of your way to learn it.
So, Mettle makes for a good set of support abilities. But since Ramza doesn't
have much in the way of direct attack abilities and only one healing ability
that also hurts him, you'll probably eventually want to supplement Mettle with
some other abilities. You can switch Ramza to another job (I like to make him
Monk or a Ninja) and equip Mettle as your second command. Or, since his Squire
job is pretty strong statistically, learn abilities with a different job and
then switch him back to Squire!
---SQUIRE [DELITA]-------------------------------------------------------------
Used By: Delita (ch. 1) Movement range : 4
Equippable weapons: Knives, swords, flails Jump height : 3
Equippable armor: Hats, clothes, robes Physical evade : 5%
Stats:
HP: **** MP: **** Phys. Atk.: **** Mag. Atk.: *** Speed: ***
--ABILITIES--
--Action Abilities: Mettle--
RNG RAD
MP SPD H/V H/V TAR LF JP EFFECT
---------------------------------------------------------------
Focus * Slf 1/- Self - 300 Raises physical attack power by 1
for duration of battle
Rush 1/1 1/- Any - 80 Weak physical attack, may knock
enemy back one tile
Stone 4/* 1/- Any Y 90 Weak (ranged) physical attack,
may knock enemy back one tile
Salve 1/2 1/- Any - 150 Cures Blind, Silence, Poison
Chant * 1/3 1/- Any - 0 Restores HP, Delita loses HP
equal to 1/2 of amount healed
JP to master: 1620
--MY THOUGHTS--
Like Ramza's, Delita's Squire job has superior stats to a regular Squire,
although he only has one extra ability, Chant. Chant comes in quite useful
during Chapter I, as it lets Delita heal other party members for a substantial
amount (albeit at the cost of some of his own HP). Expect to see the guest AI
using it fairly frequently.
---SQUIRE [ARGATH]-------------------------------------------------------------
Used By: Argath (ch. 1) Movement range : 4
Equippable weapons: Knives, swords, axes, flails Jump height : 3
Equippable armor: Hats, clothes Physical evade : 15%
Stats:
HP: **** MP: **** Phys. Atk.: **** Mag. Atk.: *** Speed: ***
--ABILITIES--
--Action Abilities: Fundaments--
RNG RAD
MP SPD H/V H/V TAR LF JP EFFECT
---------------------------------------------------------------
Focus * Slf 1/- Self - 300 Raises physical attack power by 1
for duration of battle
Rush 1/1 1/- Any - 80 Weak physical attack, may knock
enemy back one tile
Stone 4/* 1/- Any Y 90 Weak (ranged) physical attack, may
knock enemy back one tile
Salve 1/2 1/- Any - 150 Cures Blind, Silence, Poison
Rend Helm Weapon Any Y 300 Destroys target's headgear
Rend Armor Weapon Any Y 400 Destroys target's armor
JP to master: 2320
--MY THOUGHTS--
Again, compared to a regular Squire, Argath has better stats and a couple extra
abilities: Rend Helm and Rend Armor. They'd be nice to use, but since Argath
only gains JP during story battles (he doesn't participate in random battles),
you likely won't even have a chance to learn them. Instead, you may want to
supplement him with a Black Magick spell or two if available, or perhaps Items.
---FELL KNIGHT-----------------------------------------------------------------
Used By: Gaffgarion Movement range : 3
Equippable weapons: Swords, knight's swords Jump height : 3
Equippable armor: Shields, helms, armor, robes Physical evade : 15%
Stats:
HP: ***** MP: **** Phys. Atk.: *** Mag. Atk.: *** Speed: ****
--ABILITIES--
--Action Abilities: Fell Sword--
RNG RAD
MP SPD H/V H/V TAR LF JP EFFECT
---------------------------------------------------------------
Shadowblade * 3/* 1/- Any N 0 Absorbs HP from target
Duskblade 3/* 1/- Any N 500 Absorbs MP from target
Fell Sword techniques have a 100% hit rate. However, they cannot be used
unless Gaffgarion is equipped with a sword, knight's sword, or fell sword.
JP to master: 1650
--MY THOUGHTS--
Gaffgarion is cool, but he's only in your party for two battles plus the intro
battle at the start of the game. But, his Shadowblade technique is quite
powerful (and restores some of Gaffgarion's HP!), so he'll be helpful while
you've got him.
---HOLY KNIGHT-----------------------------------------------------------------
Used By: Agrias, Delita (ch. 2+) Movement range : 3
Equippable weapons: Swords, knight's swords Jump height : 3
Equippable armor: Shields, helms, armor, robes Physical evade : 25%
Stats:
HP: ***** MP: **** Phys. Atk.: *** Mag. Atk.: *** Speed: ***
--ABILITIES--
--Action Abilities: Holy Sword--
RNG RAD
MP SPD H/V H/V TAR LF JP EFFECT
---------------------------------------------------------------
Judgment Blade * 2/* 2/0 Any N 0 Non-elemental attack, causes Stop
Cleansing Strike 3/2 1/- Any N 400 Non-elemental attack, causes Doom
Northswain's Strike 3/1 1/- Any N 500 Non-elemental attack, instant KO
Hallowed Bolt * 3/* 2/1 Any N 700 Non-elemental attack, causes
Silence
Divine Ruination * 4Dir 5/2 Any N 800 Non-elemental attack, causes
Confusion
Chant (Delita only) * 1/3 1/- Any - 0 Restores HP, Delita loses HP
equal to 1/2 of amount healed
Holy Sword techniques have a 100% hit rate. However, they cannot be used
unless Agrias/Delita is equipped with a sword, knight's sword, or fell sword.
JP to master: 3450
--MY THOUGHTS--
Agrias's sword techniques makes her an invaluable member of your party as soon
as she joins, and she'll stay that way pretty much throughout the game. Her
Holy Sword abilities are great because they do a lot of damage, require no
charge time or MP, and have a few panels' range! She's likely to be a major
part of your offense, especially before you get Orlandeau, who has all of
Agrias's abilities and then some. Even with Orlandeau available, though,
Agrias still makes for a good fighter; she's just not quite *as* strong ;).
You may want to save up your JP for Hallowed Bolt and Divine Ruination, her
best techniques. Divine Ruination is her strongest technique and can damage
quite a few enemies if they all happen to be standing on a straight line.
Hallowed Bolt isn't quite as strong, but it works on a diagonal and can strike
multiple enemies standing next to each other.
Note that since sword techniques are considered physical attacks, the
Geomancer's Attack Boost can make them even stronger!
Delita's version of the Holy Knight job is even tougher, but he only shows up
as a Holy Knight for a few battles.
---PRINCESS--------------------------------------------------------------------
Used By: Ovelia Movement range : 4
Equippable weapons: Staves Jump height : 3
Equippable armor: Hats, clothes, robes Physical evade : 20%
Stats:
HP: *** MP: **** Phys. Atk.: **** Mag. Atk.: *** Speed: ***
--ABILITIES--
--Action Abilities: Holy Magicks--
RNG RAD
MP SPD H/V H/V TAR LF JP EFFECT
---------------------------------------------------------------
Aegis * 30 25 5/* 1/- Any N 0 Gives Reraise, Regen, Protect,
Shell, and Haste status
Dispelna 20 25 4/* 1/- Any N 0 Cures Stone, Confuse, Silence,
Vampire, Toad, Poison, Stop,
Sleep, Immobilize, and Disable
JP to master: 1050
--MY THOUGHTS--
Well, Ovelia only fights in a few battles, but she's actually a useful
character (you wouldn't expect her to be, but she is!). Aegis is a great spell
since it casts 5 different buffs at once; unfortunately, since you can't
control her, she'll mostly cast it on herself.
---MACHINIST-------------------------------------------------------------------
Used By: Mustadio Movement range : 3
Equippable weapons: Knives, guns Jump height : 4
Equippable armor: Hats, clothes Physical evade : 18%
Stats:
HP: *** MP: *** Phys. Atk.: *** Mag. Atk.: **** Speed: ****
--ABILITIES--
--Action Abilities: Aimed Shot--
RNG RAD
MP SPD H/V H/V TAR LF JP EFFECT
---------------------------------------------------------------
Leg Shot Weapon Any Y 200 Causes Immobilize status
Arm Shot * Weapon Any Y 300 Causes Disable status
Seal Evil * Weapon Any Y 200 Petrifies undead
JP to master: 1750
--MY THOUGHTS--
With his Arm Shot ability and a gun, Mustadio can disable enemies from across
the battlefield. This is a great ability since it effectively stops enemy from
taking any kind of action for a few turns. You can Disable enemy mages to keep
them from casting spells while the rest of your team is trying to reach them,
or Disable a melee fighter and have the rest of your team pounce on him/her
without fear of reprisal. Or, when you're just faced with a lot of enemies at
once, Disabling a few can make the crowd more manageable. Since Disable also
shuts down reaction abilities, you can also use it to stop monsters from
counter-attacking you or to keep humans from recovering from your attacks.
Towards the very end of the game, it becomes slightly less useful since many
human enemies are equipped with Thief's Caps, which renders them immune to
Disable status.
Seal Evil is also useful: it turns undead enemies to stone, which not only
defeats them instantly, but prevents them from reviving. (And it has a high
hit rate!) Although you won't face undead enemies in too many battles, it's
quite handy in the ones where you do.
In order for Mustadio's Aimed Shot abilities to keep their long range, Mustadio
needs to stay equipped with a gun. Once you've finished learning his Aimed
Shot abilities, you may want to consider switching him to a Chemist, another
job that can equip guns. This will let him supplement his Aimed Shots with the
ability to heal your teammates.
Once you get Balthier, though, Mustadio essentially becomes obsolete, since
Balthier has even more abilities and better stats.
---ASTROLOGER------------------------------------------------------------------
Used by: Orran Movement range : 3
Equippable weapons: Books Jump height : 4
Equippable armor: Hats, clothes Physical evade : 15%
--ABILITIES--
--Action Abilities: Astrology--
RNG RAD
MP SPD H/V H/V TAR LF JP EFFECT
---------------------------------------------------------------
Celestial Stasis * 20 All foes! N 0 Causes Stop, Immobilize, or
Disable
Focus * Slf 1/- Self - 300 Raises physical attack power by 1
for duration of battle
Rush 1/1 1/- Any - 80 Weak physical attack, may knock
enemy back one tile
Stone 4/* 1/- Any Y 90 Weak (ranged) physical attack,
may knock enemy back one tile
Salve 1/2 1/- Any - 150 Cures Blind, Silence, Poison
JP to master: 1865
--MY THOUGHTS--
Orran is ludicrously powerful, thanks to his Celestial Stasis spell, which will
debilitate most of the enemies on the board every time he uses it and doesn't
even cost any MP! Too bad he only shows up in one battle and you don't even
get to control him :(
---CLERIC----------------------------------------------------------------------
Used By: Alma Movement range : 4
Equippable weapons: Staves Jump height : 3
Equippable armor: Hats, clothes, robes Physical evade : 18%
Stats:
HP: *** MP: **** Phys. Atk.: **** Mag. Atk.: *** Speed: ***
--ABILITIES--
--Action Abilities: Holy Magicks--
RNG RAD
MP SPD H/V H/V TAR LF JP EFFECT
---------------------------------------------------------------
Aegis * 30 25 5/* 1/- Any N 0 Gives Reraise, Regen, Protect,
Shell, and Haste status
Dispelna 20 25 4/* 1/- Any N 0 Cures Stone, Confuse, Silence,
Vampire, Toad, Poison, Stop,
Sleep, Immobilize, and Disable
Ultima 10 20 4/* 2/1 Any N n/a Non-elemental magick attack
Chant * 1/3 1/- Any - 0 Restores HP, Alma loses HP equal
to 1/2 of amount healed
JP to master: 1050
--MY THOUGHTS--
Alma is almost identical to Ovelia, except that she has Chant. As with Ovelia,
Aegis is a great support spell, so she'll be useful during the few battles
where you can control her. You can use Items to keep up her MP and allow her
to keep casting the spell.
It's a good idea to de-equip Alma of her all gear before you go to Orbonne
Monastery in Chapter III, since most of it can't be bought in stores.
When Alma rejoins during the final battle, it is possible for her to learn
Ultima from casting Ramza or Luso casting it on her, but you're better off with
her Aegis spell!
---GAME HUNTER-----------------------------------------------------------------
Used By: Luso Movement range : 4
Equippable weapons: Knives, swords, knight's swords, Jump height : 3
flails Physical evade : 10%
Equippable armor: Shields, hats, helms, clothes, armor,
robes
Innate ability: Poach
Stats:
HP: **** MP: **** Phys. Atk.: **** Mag. Atk.: *** Speed: ***
--ABILITIES--
--Action Abilities: Huntcraft--
RNG RAD
MP SPD H/V H/V TAR LF JP EFFECT
---------------------------------------------------------------
Focus * Slf 1/- Self - 300 Raises physical attack power by 1
for duration of battle
Rush 1/1 1/- Any - 80 Weak physical attack, may knock
enemy back one tile
Stone 4/* 1/- Any Y 90 Weak (ranged) physical attack,
may knock enemy back one tile
Salve 1/2 1/- Any - 150 Cures Blind, Silence, Poison
Tailwind * 3/* 1/- Any N 200 Raises speed by 1 for duration of
battle
Chant * 1/3 1/- Any - 0 Restores HP, Luso loses HP equal
to 1/2 of amount healed
Steel * 3/* 1/- Any N 200 Raises Bravery by 5
Shout * Slf 1/- Self - 500 Raises Bravery by 10, attack and
magick strength by 1, speed by
1
Ultima 10 20 4/* 2/1 Any N N/A Non-elemental magick attack
JP to master: 4430
Ultima can only be learned by having Ramza or an enemy cast it on Luso; see the
"Learning Ultima" section under Various Tricks for more information on this.
--MY THOUGHTS--
Luso is basically a clone of Ramza, even down to his stats, and so has the same
strengths and weaknesses. Luso's main distinguishing feature is his innate
Poach ability, which can be nice for hunting for the rare items you get from
poaching some monsters.
Overall, Luso's OK -- but you already have one Ramza, and *that* Ramza is the
one you're required to use in story battles. As a result, Luso is sadly pretty
redundant in most cases. Ramza's abilities aren't good enough that you need
two people in the party using them, not when you fill that slot in your party
with a character who has a different set of abilities.
---SKYSEER---------------------------------------------------------------------
Used By: Rapha Movement range : 3
Equippable weapons: Staves, poles Jump height : 3
Equippable armor: Hats, clothes, robes Physical evade : 10%
Stats:
HP: *** MP: **** Phys. Atk.: *** Mag. Atk.: *** Speed: ****
--Action Abilities: Sky Mantra--
RNG RAD
MP SPD H/V H/V TAR LF JP EFFECT
---------------------------------------------------------------
Heaven's Wrath * 34 4/* 2/3 Any N 100 Lightning attack, strikes random
tiles within radius
Ashura 25 4/* 2/3 Any N 200 Fire attack, strikes random tiles
within radius
Adamantine Blade 20 4/* 2/3 Any N 300 Wind attack, strikes random tiles
within radius
Maelstrom 17 4/* 2/3 Any N 400 Water attack, strikes random
tiles within radius
Celestial Void * 20 4/* 2/3 Any N 500 Non-elemental attack, strikes
random tiles within radius.
Causes Blind, Confuse, Silence,
Toad, Poison, Slow, Sleep
Divinity 15 4/* 2/3 Any N 600 Earth attack, strikes random
tiles within radius
Sky Mantra attacks do not take enemy Faith into consideration. This is unlike
most magick attacks, which do high damage to targets with high Faith and low
damage to enemies with low Faith.
JP to master: 3150
--MY THOUGHTS--
As you've probably observed during her time as a guest, Rapha's Sky Mantra
abilities are pretty useless. They strike random tiles within their effect
radius, making them often as likely to hit your allies as your enemies, and
they don't even do all that much damage anyway. (Plus, they take time to
charge.)
On the other hand, given her low Bravery, Rapha is a character that can easily
be made into a good Treasure Hunter. (You're more likely to get good items
with Treasure Hunter if your Bravery is low.) And, if you're planning to
tackle the bonus dungeon, you'll definitely want a Treasure Hunter! Of course,
it's not in any way necessary to specifically use Rapha for this; any other
character with low Bravery works fine. Rapha just tends to be convenient since
her Bravery is already pretty low to start with -- and you may want to lower
her Bravery even further with the Orator's Intimidate to increase your odds
further.
---NETHERSEER------------------------------------------------------------------
Used By: Marach Movement range : 4
Equippable weapons: Rods, poles Jump height : 3
Equippable armor: Hats, clothes, robes Physical evade : 8%
Stats:
HP: *** MP: **** Phys. Atk.: *** Mag. Atk.: *** Speed: ****
--Action Abilities: Nether Mantra--
RNG RAD
MP SPD H/V H/V TAR LF JP EFFECT
---------------------------------------------------------------
Hell's Wrath * 34 4/* 2/3 Any N 100 Lightning attack, strikes random
tiles within radius
Nether Ashura 25 4/* 2/3 Any N 200 Fire attack, strikes random tiles
within radius
Nether Blade 20 4/* 2/3 Any N 300 Wind attack, strikes random tiles
within radius
Nether Maelstrom 17 4/* 2/3 Any N 400 Water attack, strikes random
tiles within radius
Corporeal Void * 20 4/* 2/3 Any N 500 Non-elemental attack, strikes
random tiles within radius.
Causes Blind, Confuse, Silence,
Toad, Poison, Slow, or Sleep
Impiety 15 4/* 2/3 Any N 600 Earth attack, strikes random
tiles within radius
Nether Mantra attacks do increased damage to enemies with LOW Faith. This is
the opposite of most magick attacks, which do increased damage to enemies with
high Faith.
JP to master: 3150
--MY THOUGHTS--
Marach's abilities are quite similar to Rapha's in that they strike random
tiles. His main interesting feature is that Nether Mantra does more damage to
enemies with LOW Faith (the reverse of regular magick), with gives you a magick
attack that's actually effective against low-Faith enemies. Unfortunately,
since Nether Mantra is so random, it's still not all that useful.
While Rapha can easily be turned into a Treasure Hunter thanks to her low
starting Bravery, Marach has a pretty average Bravery and isn't particularly
good for this. In other words: there's generally not much of a reason to put
Marach in your party, and he's usually considered the least useful of the story
characters. If you're not set on having all the story characters on your
roster, you could even skip recruiting him--or sign him up, take his equipment,
and then delete him.
If you do want to use Marach, you can always switch him to some standard job
instead of relying on his Nether Mantra abilities. Of course, then he's really
no different from any other generic character.
---TEMPLAR---------------------------------------------------------------------
Used By: Beowulf Movement range : 4
Equippable weapons: Knives, swords, knight's swords Jump height : 3
Equippable armor: Shields, helms, armor, robes Physical evade : 14%
Stats:
HP: **** MP: ***** Phys. Atk.: ***** Mag. Atk.: *** Speed: ****
--ABILITIES--
--Action Abilities: Spellblade--
RNG RAD
MP SPD H/V H/V TAR LF JP EFFECT
---------------------------------------------------------------
Blind 6 4/* 1/- Any N 50 Causes Blind
Syphon * 2 4/* 1/- Any N 100 Absorbs MP from target
Drain 12 4/* 1/- Any N 180 Absorbs HP from target
Faith 10 4/* 1/- Any N 200 Causes Faith condition
Doubt 10 4/* 1/- Any N 200 Causes Atheist condition
Zombie 14 4/* 1/- Any N 150 Causes Undead condition
Silence 16 4/* 1/- Any N 90 Causes Silence
Berserk 16 4/* 1/- Any N 200 Causes Berserk
Chicken * 12 4/* 1/- Any N 500 Lowers target's Bravery by 50
Confuse 14 4/* 1/- Any N 200 Causes Confusion
Dispel 20 4/* 1/- Any N 300 Removes positive status
Disable * 14 4/* 1/- Any N 50 Causes Disable status
Sleep 20 4/* 1/- Any N 170 Causes Sleep
Break * 24 4/* 1/- Any N 300 Causes Stone
Vengeance * 20 8/* 1/- Any N 600 Deals damage = (Beowulf's max HP
minus Beowulf's current HP)
Spellblade techniques cannot be used unless Beowulf is equipped with a sword,
knight's sword, or fell sword.
JP to master: 4340
--MY THOUGHTS--
Beowulf is essentially a Mystic on steroids -- like a Mystic, he specializes in
inflicing status conditions, but his abilities don't need to charge and in some
cases cost less MP than the Mystic equivalent! Plus, with a knight's sword,
he can be a pretty good fighter, and Templar has the highest MP of any job in
the game.
A trio of Spellblade abilities are particularly useful. First off, Chicken
drops an enemy's Bravery by 50, which will turn it into a useless chicken in
one shot if the enemy's Bravery is less than 60. It has a 70-100% hit rate,
and it only costs 12 MP! It's a great ability for quickly reducing the number
of enemies you need to fight at once, and is also a pretty good way of
prolonging a battle (e.g. to hunt for items in the bonus dungeon). Vengeance
is also a great ranged attack that can do quite a bit of damage when Beowulf is
low on HP (and it has a fantastic range of EIGHT panels); the main downside is
that it's useless at the start of a battle when Beowulf hasn't been harmed yet.
Finally, Beowulf's Break spell also has a pretty high chance of turning an
enemy instantly to stone.
---AUTOMATON-------------------------------------------------------------------
Used By: Construct 8 Movement range : 3
Equippable weapons: none Jump height : 3
Equippable armor: none Physical : 0%
Innate abilities: Counter, Ignore Terrain, Ignore Weather#, cannot enter water.
Construct 8 is also immune to most status conditions and (by virtue of having 0
Faith) magick. It's weak to thunder, but only non-magickal thunder attacks
since it's immune to magick.
# Since Construct 8 has no magick and can't enter water, its Ignore Weather
would appear not to ever actually do anything. What in the world?
--ABILITIES--
--Action Abilities: Tasks--
RNG RAD
MP SPD H/V H/V TAR LF JP EFFECT
---------------------------------------------------------------
Destroy 1/2 1/- Any - 0 Physical attack
Compress 1/2 1/- Any - 0 Instant KO
Dispose * 8/* 1/- Any N 0 Physical attack
Pulverize 1/0 1/- Any - 0 Physical attack
All Tasks abilities consume some of Construct 8's HP when used.
--Reaction Abilities--
TRIGGER BRV JP EFFECT
------------------------------------------------------------
Counter Automatically eqppd. Yes 0 Counter-attack with physical attack
--Support Abilities--
JP EFFECT
----------------------------------------------------------
Defense Boost Automatically eqpd. 0 Lowers damage received from physical
attacks
--Movement Abilities--
none
JP to master: 0
--MY THOUGHTS--
Since Construct 8 is a special "monster," it can't change jobs, use equipment,
or learn new abilities. That means it's not a very customizable character and
has pretty much a fixed set of strengths and weaknesses.
One of Construct 8's great strengths is its Dispose ability, which has a range
of 8 panels and never misses. It's only moderately strong, but the range and
hit rate make it good for taking out enemy mages and gunners/archers.
Construct 8 is also great on defense, since it's immune to magick and most
status conditions (Confusion being one of the notable exceptions). This makes
it especially useful in particular battles where the enemy relies heavily on
magick or status attacks. Plus, it has an inherent Defense Boost and Counter.
You can also use Construct 8 as a stepping-stool to help other characters
climb up to higher ledges. (Other large monsters have this ability as well.)
This is necessary to find the hidden items at Nelveska Temple, and can often
be handy in Midlight's Deep as well.
The downside to Construct 8 is that it's pretty slow and has a short move
range, so it's pretty rare that you'll actually have a chance to use its close
range attacks. It's of course also immune to any POSITIVE magick you might
want to cast on it, like buffs or Cure spells. Using the Tasks abilities also
consumes some of its HP, but it's not all that much, so this isn't much to
worry about.
The biggest concern is that since Construct 8 can't use equipment or change
abilities, it's hard to upgrade. (The best you can do is gain levels and raise
its Bravery.) This means that it's hard to remedy some of its weaknesses like
its short movement range, and that it eventually can't keep pace with the rest
of your team. In sum, Construct 8 proves to be quite useful when you first get
it and remains very helpful in particular story battles (against enemies using
magick or status attacks), but its usefulness may start to fade as other
characters gain more and more abilities that Construct 8 can never have.
---SKY PIRATE------------------------------------------------------------------
Used By: Balthier Movement range : 4
Equippable weapons: Knives, swords, knight's swords, Jump height : 4
bows, crossbows, guns, polearms Physical evade : 25%
Equippable armor: Shields, hats, helms, clothes, armor,
robes
Innate ability: Safeguard
Stats:
HP: *** MP: *** Phys. Atk.: **** Mag. Atk.: *** Speed: *****
--Action Abilities: Piracy--
RNG RAD
MP SPD H/V H/V TAR LF JP EFFECT
---------------------------------------------------------------
Leg Shot Weapon Any Y 200 Causes Immobilize status
Arm Shot * Weapon Any Y 300 Causes Disable status
Seal Evil * Weapon Any Y 200 Petrifies undead
Barrage Weapon Any Y 1200 Use weapon 4 times in a row at
1/2 damage per attack
Plunder Gil 1/1 1/- Foe - 10 Steal small amount of gil
Plunder Heart * 3/1 1/- Foe N 150 Causes Charm on target of female
sex (human targets only)
Plunder Helm * 1/1 1/- Foe - 350 Steal target's helmet
Plunder Armor * 1/1 1/- Foe - 450 Steal target's armor
Plunder Shield * 1/1 1/- Foe - 350 Steal target's shield
Plunder Weapon * 1/1 1/- Foe - 600 Steal target's weapon
Plunder Accessory 1/1 1/- Foe - 500 Steal target's accessory
Plunder EXP 1/1 1/- Foe - 250 Steal target's current EXP
The range of Leg Arm, Arm Shot, Seal Evil, and Barrage are equal to the range
of his current weapon.
Note that the Plunder abilities have a higher hit rate than the Thief's
Steal equivalents.
JP to master: 6350
--MY THOUGHTS--
Balthier is an all-around great character, and quite versatile. As you can see
from his available equipment, he can function both as a ranged fighter or a
close-range one. Essentially, he's a combination of Mustadio (he has all of
Mustadio's Aimed Shot abilities) and a Thief ... except that he's also
physically stronger, is more successful at stealing than a Thief, and has the
super speed of a Ninja. How can you go wrong with that? Once Balthier joins,
there's not all that much use for Mustadio since Balthier has all of Mustadio's
ability and then some!
Balthier's one completely unique ability, Barrage, is also quite useful. It's
similar to Dual Wield in the sense that is essentially doubles your attack
power, except that Barrage lets Balthier still equip a shield in his other
hand. Barrage also divides the damage across four attacks, so that if one or
two is missed or blocked, you can still connect with the others. (On the other
hand, if you land a critical hit and knock the enemy backwards, all the other
attacks will miss!) Since Barrage counts as a regular attack, it can also be
combined with Poach or Tame. In the right circumstances, Barrage can also be
used to attack multiple enemies in one turn -- see "Shoot Enemies Next to You"
under Various Tricks. Sadly, Dual Wield and Barrage CANNOT be combined; you
still only get 4 attacks even if Balthier has a weapon in both hands. No Genji
Glove + Offering this time around :(
---SWORD SAINT-----------------------------------------------------------------
Used By: Orlandeau Movement range : 4
Equippable weapons: Swords, knight's swords, katanas, Jump height : 3
ninja blades Physical evade : 12%
Equippable armor: Shields, hats, helms, clothes, armor,
robes
Stats:
HP: ***** MP: ***** Phys. Atk.: ***** Mag. Atk.: *** Speed: ****
--Action Abilities: Swordplay--
RNG RAD
MP SPD H/V H/V TAR LF JP EFFECT
---------------------------------------------------------------
Judgment Blade * 2/* 2/0 Any N 0 Non-elemental attack, causes Stop
Cleansing Strike 3/2 1/- Any N 400 Non-elemental attack, causes Doom
Northswain's Strike 3/1 1/- Any N 500 Non-elemental attack, instant KO
Hallowed Bolt * 3/* 2/1 Any N 700 Non-elemental attack, causes
Silence
Divine Ruination * 4Dir 5/2 Any N 800 Non-elemental attack, causes
Confusion
Crush Armor 3/* 1/- Any N 200 Non-elemental attack, destroys
target's armor
Crush Helm 3/* 1/- Any N 400 Non-elemental attack, destroys
target's headgear
Crush Weapon * 3/* 1/- Any N 500 Non-elemental attack, destroys
target's weapon
Crush Accessory 3/* 1/- Any N 800 Non-elemental attack, destroys
target's accessory
Shadowblade * 3/* 1/- Any N 0 Absorbs HP from target
Duskblade * 3/* 1/- Any N 500 Absorbs MP from target
Swordplay techniques have a 100% hit rate. However, they cannot be used
unless Orlandeau is equipped with a sword, knight's sword, or fell sword.
Note that Crush abilities have a 0% hit rate against targets with Safeguard.
(Unlike in the PSone version, though, they CAN target monsters and unequipped
humans!)
JP to master: 5850
--MY THOUGHTS--
There's probably not much I need to say here. The Thunder God himself is
overwhelmingly powerful -- he has all of Agrias's, Meliadoul's, and
Gaffgarion's sword techniques (all useful in their own right), he has
tremendous HP and attack power, and he comes with the Excalibur sword, which
gives a permanent Haste. His attacks do tremendous damage and he can take down
most enemy units with a sword technique. Shadowblade even lets him heal
himself in the process!
In other words, the only reason you *wouldn't* want Orlandeau on your team is
to challenge yourself by making the game harder. Otherwise, he's going to be
your strongest character -- to the point of being more than a little
unbalanced ;)
Particularly useful abilities are Hallowed Bolt and Divine Ruination for group
damage, Shadowblade for restoring Orlandeaus' HP, Crush Weapon for disabling an
enemy's offense, and Duskblade against enemy magick users. Duskblade steals so
much MP that you can often steal an enemy mage's entire magick gauge and render
them completely useless. This is a great tactic against magick-using enemies!
(You can also use it as a crippling the last enemy if you extend the battle for
any reason.) And, as with Agrias, giving him the Geomancer's Attack Boost will
make his sword techniques stronger.
---HOLY DRAGON-----------------------------------------------------------------
Used By: Reis (before completing Nelveska Temple quest) Movement range : 5
Equippable weapons: none Jump height : 3
Equippable armor: none Physical evade : 5%
--Action Abilities: Breath--
RNG RAD
MP SPD H/V H/V TAR LF JP EFFECT
---------------------------------------------------------------
Ice Breath * 2/* 1/- Any Y 0 Ice attack
Fire Breath * 2/* 1/- Any Y 0 Fire attack
Thunder Breath * 2/* 1/- Any Y 0 Lightning attack
These three Breath attacks can only target characters in a straight line from
Reis, not on a diagonal.
--Reaction Abilities--
none
--Support Abilities--
none
--Movement Abilities--
none
JP to master: 0
--MY THOUGHTS--
In her dragon form, Reis is limited to her three breath attacks. (And, being
a monster, she obviously can't change jobs.) She has a lot of HP, though, and
ironically her movement range is much better than her human form's. I have to
admit that I still haven't used her dragon form much so I can't say too much
about it yet.
Note that if you fail to buy Aerith's flower at Sal Ghidos, you won't be able
to complete the quest to restore Reis to human form and she'll actually be
stuck in dragon form for the entirety of the game.
---DRAGONKIN-------------------------------------------------------------------
Used By: Reis (after Nelveska Temple quest) Movement range : 3
Equippable weapons: Bags Jump height : 3
Equippable armor: Hair adornments Physical evade : 7%
Equippable accessories: Rings, armlets, perfume, and lip rouge only
Innate abilities: Beastmaster, Tame, Dual Wield
Stats:
HP: ***** MP: ***** Phys. Atk.: ***** Mag. Atk.: *** Speed: *****
--ABILITIES--
--Action Abilities: Dragon--
RNG RAD
MP SPD H/V H/V TAR LF JP EFFECT
---------------------------------------------------------------
Ice Breath * 2/* 1/- Any Y 0 Ice attack #
Fire Breath * 2/* 1/- Any Y 0 Fire attack #
Thunder Breath * 2/* 1/- Any Y 0 Lightning attack #
Dragon's Charm * 2/2 1/- Foe N 300 Dragon or hydra joins as guest,
and can be recruited after
battle (100% hit rate!)
Dragon's Gift 2/2 1/- Any N 300 Heals dragon or hydra and removes
Blind, Confuse, Silence, Oil,
Berserk, Toad, Poison, Stop,
Sleep, Immobilize, and Disable.
Consumes Reis's HP when used.
Dragon's Might 2/2 1/- Any N 400 Boosts dragon or hydra's Bravery,
speed, physical attack, and
magick attack
Dragon's Speed 2/2 1/- Any N 400 Fills dragon or hydra's CT gauge
to 100 (instant turn!)
Holy Breath 4/* 3/3 Any N 900 Holy attack, strikes random tiles
within radius
# The initial three Breath attacks can only target characters in a straight
line from Reis, not on a diagonal.
JP to master: 2350
--MY THOUGHTS--
Although Reis's abilities don't seem too exciting at first glance, check out
her stats! Dragonkin is the fastest job in the game and Reis also has great
HP, MP, and physical attack power. She can also attack twice (as if she were
a Ninja) and her attack can Tame monsters. Note that bags can't be Dual-
Wielded (as is the true for any character), but Reis's Dual Wield does work
with her fists or other weapons you give her using Equip ____ abilities.
Unfortunately, the job is weakened by her lack of equipment. Moreover,
although Reis's primary weapons is her fists, she does *not* have the Brawler
ability. So, to make her stronger, give her Brawler or an Equip ___ ability.
For a melee fighter, Reis's movement range of 3 is also rather poor, and she
also can't equip the accessories that would increase it. Move +1 or Move +2
will help, though. (Or, alternately, give her the Septie`me perfume or Tynar
Rouge; a permanent Haste will give her more turns, so it doesn't matter so much
if she can't move very far on each turn.)
As for her abilities, her three initial Breath attacks are her probably best
attacks, since they supplement her fists with elemental attacks with a 2-tile
range. The four "Dragon's _____" are only useful if you have dragons or hydras
on your squad. This gives them a somewhat use -- but the hydra family contains
the strongest monsters in the game, so they may be worth recruiting and adding
to your team! One trick is to use Dragon's Charm to recruit dragons/hydras
just to help you in one battle and also save you from fighting them; you don't
have to permanently add them to your party at the end of the battle if you
don't want to.
---SOLDIER---------------------------------------------------------------------
Used By: Cloud Movement range : 3
Equippable weapons: Swords Jump height : 3
Equippable armor: Hats, hair adornments, clothes Physical evade : 20%
Stats:
HP: **** MP: ***** Phys. Atk.: **** Mag. Atk.: *** Speed: ***
--ABILITIES--
--Action Abilities: Limit--
RNG RAD
MP SPD H/V H/V TAR LF JP EFFECT
---------------------------------------------------------------
Brave Slash 34 2/* 1/- Any N 150 Non-elemental attack
Cross Slash * 25 2/* 2/2 Any N 200 Non-elemental attack
Blade Beam * 20 2/* 1/- Any N 250 Damage = (Cloud's max HP minus
current HP)
Climhazzard 15 2/* 1/- Any N 500 Damage = (TARGET'S max HP minus
current HP)
Meteorain 10 3/* 3/0 Any N 600 Non-elemental attack
Finishing Touch * 20 3/* 2/0 Any N 700 Causes KO, Stone, Stop
Omnislash 7 3/* 3/0 Any N 1200 Non-elemental attack
Cherry Blossom 5 3/* 3/0 Any N 2500 Non-elemental attack
Limit techniques cannot be used unless Cloud is equipped with the Materia Blade
sword.
JP to master: 7150
--MY THOUGHTS--
For being a hidden character, Cloud could be better. His Limit abilities take
a very long time to charge, and they can only target panels (not units), so the
enemy will just move away while he's charging. Give him the Time Mage's
Swiftness ability to make up for this. Even with that, Cloud is a little pokey
-- he only has a movement range of 3, so you may also want to give him Germinas
Boots or Move +1/Move +2 to boost his movement. Finishing Touch is very
powerful, though; it petrifies or KOs enemies, and can hit a whole group.
Cloud starts at level 1, which means that you'll have to spend a lot of time
bringing him up to snuff. However, as he gains levels, you'll find that his
stats turn out to be pretty good. He has good HP and a lot of MP, so you
could try making him into a magick-user, I suppose. Unfortunately, his
physical attack is only moderately strong at best, since he's stuck with the
Materia Blade if you want to use Limits. Personally, I still don't think it's
worth the trouble, but other people seem to like him.
---DIVINE KNIGHT---------------------------------------------------------------
Used By: Meliadoul Movement range : 4
Equippable weapons: Swords, knight's swords, crossbows, Jump height : 3
polearms Physical evade : 10%
Equippable armor: Shields, helms, clothes, armor, robes
Stats:
HP: **** MP: *** Phys. Atk.: **** Mag. Atk.: ** Speed: ***
--ABILITIES--
--Action Abilities: Unyielding Blade--
RNG RAD
MP SPD H/V H/V TAR LF JP EFFECT
---------------------------------------------------------------
Crush Armor * 3/* 1/- Any N 200 Non-elemental attack, destroys
target's armor
Crush Helm 3/* 1/- Any N 400 Non-elemental attack, destroys
target's headgear
Crush Weapon * 3/* 1/- Any N 500 Non-elemental attack, destroys
target's weapon
Crush Accessory 3/* 1/- Any N 800 Non-elemental attack, destroys
target's accessory
Unyielding Blade techniques have a 100% hit rate. However, they cannot be used
unless Meliadoul is equipped with a sword, knight's sword, or fell sword.
Note that these abilities have a 0% hit rate against targets with Safeguard.
Unlike in the PSone version, though, they CAN target monsters and unequipped
humans!
JP to master: 2950
--MY THOUGHTS--
Meliadoul's sword skills are quite useful, since they do good damage, never
miss, and can shatter enemy equipment. In the PSP version, they can even be
used against targets who don't have the relevant item equipped (e.g. Crush
Armor can still damage a target without armor), which means they also work on
monsters! They're all limited to hitting a single target, though. Of her
abilities, Crush Armor and Crush Weapon are probably the best -- Crush Armor
does the most raw damage, and Crush Weapon can cripple an enemy's offense.
Unfortunately for Meliadoul, she doesn't join the team until *after* Orlandeau,
who has all her sword techniques and then some, as well as better stats! So,
what would otherwise be a good character may not find all that use on your
squad. Both Orlandeau and Agrias tend to have more useful swordskills. Still,
Meliadoul can make for a pretty good second-string fighter. You could also try
teaching her some magick or making her into a magick-using job since she has
high Faith.
---ARK KNIGHT------------------------------------------------------------------
Used By: Zalbaag Movement range : 4
Equippable weapons: Swords, knight's swords Jump height : 3
Equippable armor: Shields, helms, armor, robes Physical evade : 10%
--ABILITIES--
--Action Abilities: Blade of Ruin--
RNG RAD
MP SPD H/V H/V TAR LF JP EFFECT
---------------------------------------------------------------
Magicksap 20 34 4/* 2/0 Any ? 0 Lowers target's MP
Speedsap 20 34 4/* 2/0 Any ? 0 Lowers target's speed
Powersap 20 34 4/* 2/0 Any ? 0 Lowers target's physical attack
strength
Mindsap 20 34 4/* 2/0 Any ? 0 Lowers target's magick attack
strength
--Reaction Abilities--
TRIGGER BRV JP EFFECT
------------------------------------------------------------
Counter Phys. Attack Yes 300 Counter-attack with physical attack
Counter Tackle Phys. attack Yes 180 Counterattack using Rush
--Support Abilities--
JP EFFECT
------------------------------------------------------------
Concentration 400 Prevents enemies from evading your
physical attacks
Safeguard 250 Equipment can't be broken or stolen
Swiftness 1000 Speeds spell/ability charge time
--Movement Abilities--
JP EFFECT
------------------------------------------------------------
Move +1 200 Movement range + 1
JP to master: 2130
--MY THOUGHTS--
Zalbaag doesn't really do much. He's only in one half of one battle that you
may win in one or two rounds. He has a nice set of abilities, but you'll never
see them in action.
---BYBLOS----------------------------------------------------------------------
Used By: the Byblos (name varies) Movement range : 3
Equippable weapons: none Jump height : 6
Equippable armor: none Physical evade : 33%
Innate abilities: Counter (100%), Poach, Ignore Elevation, can't enter water
--ABILITIES--
--Action Abilities: Byblos--
RNG RAD
MP SPD H/V H/V TAR LF JP EFFECT
---------------------------------------------------------------
Energize 4/* 1/- Any N 0 Restores HP, the Byblos loses HP
equal to 1/2 of amount healed
Parasite 4/* 1/- Any N 0 Causes Stone, Blind, Confuse,
Silence, Oil, Toad, Poison,
Sleep
Vengeance 5/3 1/- Any N 0 Damage = (Byblos's max HP minus
current HP)
Manaburn 5/3 1/- Any N 0 Deals damage equal to target's
current MP
--Reaction Abilities--
TRIGGER BRV JP EFFECT
------------------------------------------------------------
Counter Automatically eqppd. Yes 0 Counter-attack with physical attack
--Support Abilities--
none
--Movement Abilities--
none
JP to master: 0
--MY THOUGHTS--
The Byblos doesn't join you until you've reached the last battle of the bonus
dungeon, which limits its usefulness. By the time it's joined your team,
you've already completed pretty much the whole single-player game!
What can it do, though? Like Construct 8, it's a special "monster" and can't
change jobs or use equipment. So, the Byblos is limited to its four abilities.
While none of these are *bad*, they still give only the Byblos a very limited
set of abilities ... and the Byblos doesn't share Construct 8's immunity to
magick. The Byblos does have an innate Poach, although the addition of Luso
(who also has an innate Poach) to the PSP version makes this somewhat less
exciting.
%%%MONSTERS%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00mon
Monsters are divided by Type and Rank. Each monster Type has three Ranks: for
instance, a Chocobo is a rank I chocobo, a Black Chocobo is rank II, and a Red
Chocobo is rank III.
Abilties that are listed in parentheses are only usable if a character with the
support ability "Beastmaster" is standing next to the monster. All monsters
have Counter as an inherent reaction ability. Most monsters have other inherent
abilities (traits), such as ignore height, float, halves fire, etc.
[ This section needs some updating and expanding; I'll get to it a future
revision of the FAQ! ]
Chocobo
Type: Chocobo Rank: I
Traits: Move in water
ABILITIES: R EFFECT
Choco Beak 1/1 Physical attack
Choco Cure A/2 Restores HP
(Choco Esuna) A/2 Cures negative status
Black Chocobo
Type: Chocobo Rank: II
Traits: Fly
ABILITIES: R EFFECT
Choco Beak 1/1 Physical attack
Choco Pellets 4/1 Physical attack
Choco Esuna A/2 Cures negative status
(Choco Meteor) 5/1 Physical attack
Red Chocobo
Type: Chocobo Rank: III
Traits: Ignore height
ABILITIES: R EFFECT
Choco Beak 1/1 Physical attack
Choco Pellets 4/1 Physical attack
Choco Meteor 5/1 Physical attack
(Choco Cure) A/2 Restores HP
Goblin
Type: Goblin Rank: I
Traits: Ice weakness
ABILITIES: R EFFECT
Tackle 1/1 Physical attack
Eye Gouge 1/1 Causes Blind status
(Goblin Punch) 1/1 Physical attack
Black Goblin
Type: Goblin Rank: II
Traits: Ice weakness
ABILITIES: R EFFECT
Tackle 1/1 Physical attack
Spin Punch A/2 Physical attack
(Goblin Punch) 1/1 Physical attack
Gobbledygook
Type: Goblin Rank: III
Traits: Ice weakness
ABILITIES: R EFFECT
Tackle 1/1 Physical attack
Eye Gouge 1/1 Causes Blind status
Goblin Punch 1/1 Physical attack
(Mutilate) 1/1 Drains enemy HP
Red Panther
Type: Panther Rank: I
Traits: Ignore height, can't enter water, earth weakness
ABILITIES: R EFFECT
Claw 1/1 Physical attack
Venom Fang 1/1 Causes Poison status
(Cat Scratch) 1/1 Physical attack
Coeurl
Type: Panther Rank: II
Traits: Ignore height, can't enter water, earth weakness
ABILITIES: R EFFECT
Claw 1/1 Physical attack
Cat Scratch 1/1 Physical attack
Venom Fang 1/1 Causes Poison status
(Blaster) 3/1 Causes Stone or Stop status
Vampire Cat
Type: Panther Rank: III
Traits: Ignore height, can't enter water, earth weakness
ABILITIES: R EFFECT
Claw 1/1 Physical attack
Cat Scratch 1/1 Physical attack
Blaster 3/1 Causes Stone or Stop status
(Blood Suck) 1/1 Drains HP, causes Vampire status
Bomb
Type: Bomb Rank: I
Traits: Float, can't enter water, absorbs fire, halves ice, water weakness
ABILITIES: R EFFECT
Bite 1/1 Physical attack
Self-Destruct A/3 Self-destruct, causes Oil
(Bomblet) 1/1 Physical attack
Grenade
Type: Bomb Rank: II
Traits: Float, can't enter water, absorbs fire, halves ice, water weakness
ABILITIES: R EFFECT
Bite 1/1 Physical attack
Bomblet 1/1 Physical attack
Self-Destruct A/3 Self-destruct, causes Oil
(Flame Attack) 3/1 Fire attack
Exploder
Type: Bomb Rank: III
Traits: Float, can't enter water, absorbs fire, halves ice, water weakness
ABILITIES: R EFFECT
Bite 1/1 Physical attack
Self-Destruct A/3 Self-destruct, causes Oil
Spark A/3 Fire attack, drains HP
(Bomblet) 1/1 Physical attack
Skeleton
Type: Skeleton Rank: I
Traits: Absorb dark, fire weakness, holy weakness, undead
ABILITIES: R EFFECT
Chop 1/1 Physical attack
Thunder Anima 3/1 Lightning attack
(Water Anima) 3/1 Water attack
Bonesnatch
Type: Skeleton Rank: II
Traits: Absorb dark, fire weakness, holy weakness, undead
ABILITIES: R EFFECT
Chop 1/1 Physical attack
Water Anima 3/1 Water attack
(Ice Anima) 3/1 Ice attack
Skeletal Fiend
Type: Skeleton Rank: III
Traits: Absorb dark, fire weakness, holy weakness,
undead
ABILITIES: R EFFECT
Chop 1/1 Physical attack
Ice Anima 3/1 Ice attack
(Wind Anima) 3/1 Wind attack
Jura Aevis
Type: Aevis Rank: I
Traits: Fly, can't enter water, halves wind, earth weakness
ABILITIES: R EFFECT
Talon Dive 1/1 Physical attack
(Featherbomb) 3/1 Magick (?) attack
Steelhawk
Type: Aevis Rank: II
Traits: Fly, can't enter water, halves wind, earth weakness
ABILITIES: R EFFECT
Scratch Up 1/1 Physical attack
Glittelust 1/1 Steals money
(Beak) 1/1 Causes Stone status
Cockatrice
Type: Aevis Rank: III
Traits: Fly, can't enter water, halves wind, earth weakness
ABILITIES: R EFFECT
Talon Dive 1/1 Physical attack
Beak 1/1 Causes Stone status
Featherbomb 3/1 Magick (?) attack
(Beaking) 1/1 Lowers physical attack strength
Piscodaemon
Type: Mindflayer Rank: I
Traits: Move underwater, absorbs water, lightning weakness
ABILITES: R EFFECT
Tentacles 1/1 Physical attack
(Ink) 2/1 Causes Blind
Squidlarkin
Type: Mindflayer Rank: II
Traits: Move underwater, absorbs water, lightning weakness
ABILITIES: R EFFECT
Tentacles 1/1 Physical attack
Ink 2/1 Causes Blind
Dischord A/3 Removes positive status
(Mind Blast) 3/2 Causes Confusion and Berserk
Mindflayer
Type: Mindflayer Rank: III
Traits: Move underwater, absorbs water, lightning weakness
ABILITIES: R EFFECT
Tentacles 1/1 Physical attack
Ink 2/1 Causes Blind
Mind Blast 3/2 Causes Confusion and Berserk
(Level Blast) 4/1 Lowers [experience] level
Wisenkin
Type: Minotaur Rank: I
Traits: Can't enter water, water weakness
ABILITIES: R EFFECT
Pickaxe 1/1 Physical attack
(Feral Spin) A/1 Physical attack
Minotaur
Type: Minotaur Rank: II
Traits: Can't enter water, water weakness
ABILITIES: R EFFECT
Pickaxe 1/1 Physical attack
Feral Spin A/1 Physical attack
(Blow Fire) 2/1 Fire attack
Sekhret
Type: Minotaur Rank: III
Traits: Can't enter water, water weakness
ABILITIES: R EFFECT
Pickaxe 1/1 Physical attack
Mimic Titan A/3 Earth attack
Gather Power A/1 Raises physical attack by 2
(Blow Fire) 2/1 Fire attack
Ghoul
Type: Ghost Rank: I
Traits: Teleport, float, can't enter water, absorbs dark,
fire weakness, holy weakness, undead
ABILITIES: R EFFECT
Ectoplasm 3/1 Magick attack
Sleep Touch 1/1 Causes Sleep status
(Oily Touch) 1/1 Causes Oil status
Ghast
Type: Ghost Rank: II
Traits: Teleport, float, can't enter water, absorbs dark,
fire weakness, holy weakness, undead
ABILITIES: R EFFECT
Ectoplasm 3/1 Magick attack
Oily Touch 1/1 Causes Oil status
(Drain Touch) 1/1 Drains target's HP
Revenant
Type: Ghost Rank: III
Traits: Teleport, float, can't enter water, absorbs dark,
fire weakness, holy weakness, undead
ABILITIES: R EFFECT
Ectoplasm 3/1 Magick attack
Drain Touch 1/1 Drains HP
(Zombie Touch) 1/1 Causes Undead status
Floating Eye
Type: Ahriman Rank: I
Traits: Fly, can't enter water, halves wind, ice weakness
ABILITIES: R EFFECT
Wing Buffet 1/1 Physical attack
(Dread Gaze) 3/1 Lowers bravery
Ahriman
Type: Ahriman Rank: II
Traits: Fly, can't enter water, halves wind, ice weakness
ABILITIES: R EFFECT
Wing Buffet 1/1 Physical attack
Bewitching Gaze 3/1 Causes Stone, Blind, Silence,
Immobilize, or Disable status
Dread Gaze 3/1 Lowers bravery
(Doom) 3/1 Causes Doom status
Plague Horror
Type: Ahriman Rank: III
Traits: Fly, can't enter water, halves wind, ice weakness
ABILITIES: R EFFECT
Wing Buffet 1/1 Physical attack
Bewitching Gaze 3/1 Causes Stone, Blind, Silence,
Immobilize, or Disable status
Doom 3/1 Causes Doom status
(Circle) 4/1 Lowers magick attack
Dryad
Type: Dryad Rank: I
Traits: Can't enter water, absorbs earth, fire weakness
ABILITIES: R EFFECT
Leaf Rain A/2 Magick (?) attack
(Guardian Nymph) A/2 Gives Protect status
Treant
Type: Dryad Rank: II
Traits: Can't enter water, absorbs earth, fire weakness
ABILITIES: R EFFECT
Leaf Rain A/2 Magick (?) attack
Life Nymph A/2 Restores HP
(Shell Nymph) A/2 Gives Shell status
Elder Treant
Type: Dryad Rank: III
Traits: Can't enter water, absorbs earth, fire weakness
ABILITIES: R EFFECT
Leaf Rain A/2 Magick (?) attack
Guardian Nymph A/2 Gives Protect status
Shell Nymph A/2 Gives Shell status
(Magick Nymph) A/2 Restores MP
Ochu
Type: Malboro Rank: I
Traits: Move on water, ice weakness
ABILITES: R EFFECT
Tentacles 1/1 Physical attack
Goo 1/1 Causes Immobilize status
(Lick) 1/1 Gives Reflect status
Malboro
Type: Malboro Rank: II
Traits: Move on water, ice weakness
ABILITIES: R EFFECT
Tentacles 1/1 Physical attack
Lick 1/1 Gives Reflect status
(Bad Breath) A/3 Causes various status problems
Greater Malboro
Type: Malboro Rank: III
Traits: Move on water, ice weakness
ABILITIES: R EFFECT
Tentacles 1/1 Physical attack
Bad Breath A/3 Causes various status problems
(Malboro Spores) 1/1 Turns target into Malboro (permanently!)
Behemoth
Type: Behemoth Rank: I
Traits: Can't enter water
ABILITIES: R EFFECT
Gore 1/1 Physical attack
Heave 1/1 Physical attack, instant KO
(Giga Flare) 4/3 Magick attack
Behemoth King
Type: Behemoth Rank: II
Traits: Can't enter water
ABILITIES: R EFFECT
Gore 1/1 Physical attack
Heave 1/1 Physical attack, instant KO
(Hurricane) 4/3 Wind attack
Dark Behemoth
Type: Behemoth Rank: III
Traits: Can't enter water
ABILITIES: R EFFECT
Gore 1/1 Physical attack
Heave 1/1 Physical attack, instant KO
(Almagest) ?/? Magick (?) attack
Dragon
Type: Dragon Rank: I
Traits: Can't enter water
ABILITIES: R EFFECT
Charge 1/1 Physical attack
(Tail Swing) 1/1 Physical attack
Blue Dragon
Type: Dragon Rank: II
Traits: Can't enter water
ABILITIES: R EFFECT
Charge 1/1 Physical attack
Ice Breath 2/1 Ice attack
(Thunder Breath) 2/1 Lightning attack
Red Dragon
Type: Dragon Rank: III
Traits: Can't enter water
ABILITIES: R EFFECT
Charge 1/1 Physical attack
Thunder Breath 2/1 Lightning attack
(Fire Breath) 2/1 Fire attack
Hydra
Type: Hydra Rank: I
Traits: Fly, can't enter water, ice weakness, wind weakness
ABILITIES: R EFFECT
Tri-Attack 1/1 Physical attack in three directions
(Tri-Breath) 2/2 Magick attack in three directions
Greater Hydra
Type: Hydra Rank: II
Traits: Fly, can't enter water, ice weakness, wind weakness
ABILITIES: R EFFECT
Tri-Attack 1/1 Physical attack in three directions
Tri-Flame 4/2 Random fire damage
(Tri-Thunder) 4/2 Random lightning damage
Tiamat
Type: Hydra Rank: III
Traits: Fly, can't enter water, ice weakness, wind weakness
ABILITIES: R EFFECT
Tri-Breath 2/2 Magick attack in three directions
Tri-Thunder 4/2 Random lightning damage
Tri-Flame 4/2 Random fire damage
(Dark Whisper) 4/2 Random dark damage + KO, Sleep
Pig
Type: Pig Rank: I
Traits: Can't enter water
ABILITIES: R EFFECT
Reckless Charge 1/1 Physical attack
(Oink) 1/1 Revives KOed character
Swine
Type: Pig Rank: II
Traits: Can't enter water
ABILITIES: R EFFECT
Reckless Charge 1/1 Physical attack
Toot 1/1 Causes Confusion and Sleep
(Nose Breath) 1/1 Causes Charm status
Wild Boar
Type: Pig Rank: III
Traits: Can't enter water
ABILITIES: R EFFECT
Reckless Charge 1/1 Physical attack
Nose Breath 1/1 Causes Charm status
(Please Eat) 1/1 Target's level up 1, user becomes crystal
*******************************************************************************
VII. ABILITY STRATEGIES
*******************************************************************************
%%%ABILITY COMBOS%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00abil
Arts of War (Knight) + Equip Guns (Orator) or Archer's bows
------------------------------------------------------
The Rending techniques are a lot more useful when used at a distance! Against
mages, use Rend MP or Rend Magick to cripple their magick right away. And
against close-range fighters, you can use Rend Weapon to destroy their weapon
before they even reach you!
Equip Guns (Orator) + Poach (Thief) or Tame (Orator)
------------------------------------------------------
Monsters with low HP tend to run away into a corner, making it hard to catch
up and use the physical attacks you need to Poach or Tame them. So equip a
gun and you've got a nice long range :)
Attack Boost (Geomancer) + Holy Sword (Holy Knight) or Swordplay (Sword Saint)
or Unyielding Blade (Divine Knight)
------------------------------------------------------
Sword techniques are considered physical attacks, so pairing them with Attack
Boost will make them even stronger!
Mana Shield (Time Mage) + Manafont (Mystic)
------------------------------------------------------
As long as you have some MP left, Mana Shield saves you from taking any actual
damage to your HP. Of course, a strong attack may cause you to lose all your
MP ... but with Manafont, you can gain back a little MP just by moving, which
is enough to activate your Mana Shield again!
Darkness (Dark Knight) + Mana Shield (Time Mage)
-----------------------------------------------------
The strongest Darkness abilities normally consume some of the user's HP ...
but if you have Mana Shield, they consume MP instead! This essentially turns
them into regular magicks (albeit ones with a hefty MP cost) -- plus, you can
then use Infernal Strike to swipe MP from the enemies and recharge!
Fire Rod + Fire/Fira/Firaga/Firaja (Black Mage)
Ice Rod + Blizzard/Blizzara/Blizzaga/Blizzaja (Black Mage)
Thunder Rod + Thunder/Thundara/Thundaga/Thundaja (Black Mage)
------------------------------------------------------
The Fire, Ice, and Thunder Rods increase the power of the corresponding
elemental magick. So, pick a particular element of magick to focus on and
pair it up with the corresponding rod. Early in the game, this is a great way
to increase the damage your Black Magick can do.
Immobilize (Time Mage) or Leg Shot (Machinist) + Aim (Archer) or Limit (Soldier)
------------------------------------------------------
Abilities that take a long time to charge are usually pretty worthless. But
not if the enemies can't move out of the way...
Corruption (Mystic) + White Magick (White Mage)
------------------------------------------------------
The Corruption ability makes enemies undead, which means they suffer damage
from healing spells. Suddenly, your White Mage's Cure spells become both a
great defensive tool *and* an offensive weapon. You can even use Arithmeticks
to cause them to hit many targets at once!
Darkness (Dark Knight) + Lifefont (Monk)
------------------------------------------------------
Sure, a number of Darkness abilities consume some of your HP ... but if you
equip Lifefont, you can gain a lot of it back as you move around!
Summon (Summoner) +
Absorb MP (Mystic) or Manafont (Mystic) or Hi-Ether (Chemist)
------------------------------------------------------
Normally, summons eat up a lot of your MP -- but you can remedy this by
equipping an ability that gets you your MP back quickly.
Steel (Ramza's Squire job) + Shirahadori (Samurai) on any character
------------------------------------------------------
With a high Bravery, Shirahadori can protect you from virtually all physical
attacks. How to get a high Bravery? Well, Ramza's Steel ability is a Bravery
booster with a 100% success rate...
Vengeance (Dark Knight) + Shirahadori (Samurai) + Aegis Shield or
Escutcheon II
------------------------------------------------------
Vengeance increases your attack power at the cost of increasing the damage you
receive ... but Shirahadori will keep a lot of physical attacks from even
hitting you! Then, to protect against magick, equip an Aegis Shield or
Escutcheon II.
Parry (Knight) + Cloths
------------------------------------------------------
Cloths have a 50% evade rate, so equipping Parry on a Dancer means you can
avoid half of all physical attacks.
Regenerator (White Mage) + Lifefont (Monk)
------------------------------------------------------
You want HP? You've got HP... but if it's still not enough, throw in Chakra.
Barrage (Sky Pirate) + Guns
------------------------------------------------------
Using Barrage with a gun lets you attack two enemies in one turn, as long as
they're in the same line of fire -- see "Shoot Enemies Next to You" under
Various Tricks for the skinny.
Magick Counter (Black Mage) + Arcane Strength (Black Mage)
------------------------------------------------------
If you're going to counter it, why not make it stronger?
Barrage (Sky Pirate) + Poach (Thief) or Tame (Orator)
------------------------------------------------------
Balthier's Barrage attack counts as a regular attack, so you can use it as an
easy way of Poaching monsters for items or Taming them onto your side.
Reflexes (Ninja) + Featherweave Cloak
------------------------------------------------------
The Reflexes reaction ability doubles your existing evasion rate. Pair it with
a Featherweave Cloak for a 80% physical evade rate and a 40% magick evade rate
-- pretty good! You could also use a shield, but they don't work against
attacks from behind, and cloaks do.
Steal Weapon (Thief) + Throw (Ninja)
------------------------------------------------------
This isn't that great a combo, but there's a certain joy in stealing somebody's
weapon and then turning around and killing them with it.
Parry (Knight) + Nagnarok sword + Treasure Hunter
------------------------------------------------------
If you're using a character for Treasure Hunting, you want the character to
have low Bravery ... but this also makes most Reaction Abilities useless, since
they depend on Bravery to activate. Parry, however, only depends on your
weapon's block rate, so pair it with the Nagnarok sword and its 50% block rate
(add Equip Swords if needed) and you've got a decent Reaction Ability for even
a low-Bravery character.
Gil Snapper (Thief) + Throw (Ninja) or Iaido (Samurai) or Items (Chemist)
------------------------------------------------------
Throw, Iaido, and Items all consume items from your inventory, which cost
money to replace. Over the course of a battle, Gil Snapper will give you some
extra spending money to help replace what you used. (But, the money earned
from Gil Snapper is usually nothing compared to your post-battle Bonus Gil, so
this is not a very effectice combo.)
%%%CHARACTER STRATEGIES%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00char
MONK
Reaction Ability: First Strike
Support Ability: Dual Wield
Movement Ability: Lifefont
------------------------------------------------------
You get two punches with Dual Wield! Because this leaves you without Equip
Heavy Armor, Lifefont is needed. As for Action Abilities, it's up to you, but
I'd recommend Iaido.
BLACK MAGE
Action Ability: Arithmeticks
Reaction Ability: Magick Counter
Support Ability: Arcane Srength
Movement Ability: Manafont
Equipment: Rod of Faith, Lordly Robe, Japa Mala
------------------------------------------------------
The ultimate magic-user. Be sure to have all the Arithmeticks, and get as
many spells (Black, White, Time, and Mystic Arts) as you can. For a more
defensive character of this character, swap out Magick Counter for Mana
Shield, which uses your MP to protect you from physical attacks. As long as
you're using Arithmeticks, you don't need MP anyway, and if you keep walking
around, Manafont will regenerate your MP and keep up your Mana Shield!
DRAGOON
Action Ability: Throw
Reaction Ability: First Strike
Support Ability: Attack Boost
Movement Ability: Move +2 (male) / Move +3 (female)
Equipment: Javelin (II), Mirror Mail, Bracer
------------------------------------------------------
Aside from the special characters, this is about the strongest fighter you can
get. If you're fighting against monsters, you'll probably want Shirahadori
instead since First Strike doesn't work on monsters. Throw could also be
substituted with Iaido.
NINJA
Action Ability: Steal
Reaction Ability: Vanish
Support Ability: Poach
Movement Ability: Fly
Equipment: Scorpion Tail (x2), Septie`me (if female)
------------------------------------------------------
Oh no! It's the Flying Ninja Corps! Just fly around and chuck stuff at
people, or get up close and poach stuff with the two Scorpion Tails. If you're
at a low level, you might want Equip Heavy Armor as a support ability instead.
NINJA
Reaction Ability: Reflexes
Support Ability: Equip Shields
Equipment: Crystal (or better) Shield, Featherweave Cloak
------------------------------------------------------
It's almost impossible (if not actually impossible) to get hit. Imagine a
party of five of these...
SAMURAI or DARK KNIGHT ... or SQUIRE [RAMZA] or SWORD SAINT [ORLANDEAU]
Reaction Ability: Mana Shield
------------------------------------------------------
The downside of Mana Shield is that it's only good with high MP ... and most
high-MP jobs are magick-using jobs, where you need to *keep* your MP! But
Samurai and Dark Knight are two jobs that don't need MP to use their abilities,
but still have a high MP total. Ramza's "special" Squire job and Orlandeau's
Sword Saint job have even more, and are also melee-oriented jobs. With these
jobs, Mana Shield turns their extra MP into a nice buffer of extra health.
RAMZA
Job: Monk or Ninja
Action Ability: Mettle
Support Ability: Dual Wield (Monk) or Brawler (if Ninja)
------------------------------------------------------
Dual Wield + Brawler always does a lot of damage by itself, and it does even
more if you can jack up your Bravery. Fortunately, Ramza's Steel and (in
chapter 4) Shout abilities do just that! With a high Bravery, Ramza can kill
just about anything in a Dual Wielded punch.
MUSTADIO
Job: Chemist
Action Ability: Aimed Shot
Reaction Ability: Auto-Potion
Equipment: any gun
------------------------------------------------------
Mustadio makes a great healer, because being a Chemist allows him to keep his
gun (and consequently his sniping abilties).
RAPHA
------------------------------------------------------
Get her a new Action Ability as soon as you can. Then just follow the "Black
Mage" recommendation above (she makes a good magic-user, she has high Faith).
You might want to give her a Chantage so she can't be killed.
RAPHA - OR OTHER LOW-BRAVERY FEMALE CHARACTER
Job: Thief or Ninja
Reaction Ability: Parry
Support Ability: Equip Swords
Movement Ability: Treasure Hunter
Equipment: Nagnarok, Septie`me
------------------------------------------------------
Hunting for items in Midlight's Deep? With this set-up, you can turn Rapha (or
any other character with a low Bravery) into the ultimate Treasure Hunter.
Thief and Ninja are mobile jobs; both have a move and jump of 4, allowing Rapha
to navigate to more remote locations. The Septie`me perfume gives Rapha a
permanent Haste, allowing her to get more turns and scoot around the map even
more quickly, as well as making her Invisible. As long as she never takes
action and just moves around looking for items, the enemies will never attack
her. Finally, if she DOES lose her Invisibility (e.g. because she was hit in a
wide-radius attack spell), the Nagnarok coupled with Parry gives her a 50%
evade rate despite her low Bravery. Actually, this is pretty much overkill;
you could go Treasure Hunting with half these abilities... :)
ORLANDEAU
Job: Sword Saint
Action Ability: Items
Reaction Ability: Shirahadori
Support Ability: Dual Wield
Movement Ability: Teleport
Equipment: Chaos Blade, Excalibur, Maximillian, Grand Helm, Angel Ring
------------------------------------------------------
The ultimate character. With this combination of abilities, you can win almost
any fight in the game with just Orlandeau. If you want to poach, ditch Dual
Wield (and the Chaos Blade) and give him Poach instead.
AGRIAS
Job: Holy Knight
Action Ability: Item
Reaction Ability: Shirahadori
Support Ability: Dual Wield
Movement Ability: Teleport
Equipment: Chaos Blade, Excalibur, Maximillian, Grand Helm, Chantage
------------------------------------------------------
Same as Orlandeau, but with the Chantage (which gives you a PERMANENT Reraise),
she might actually be stronger...
CLOUD
------------------------------------------------------
Just make sure he has Swiftness or the Limits are useless...
%%%PARTY STRATEGIES%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00par
HOLY JUSTICE
4 Knights with Chameleon Robes
Black Mage with Arithmeticks, Holy (White Mage) learned, Chameleon Robes
------------------------------------------------------
Have the Black Mage calculate Holy on as many targets as possible; it will do
lots of damage to the enemies but heal all your characters since Chameleon
Robes absorb holy damage!
PHANTOMS OF THE OPERA
4 Dancers with Mincing Minuet (Dancer) and Vanish (Ninja)
Ramza as a Mime
------------------------------------------------------
At the start of the battle, have all the Dancers dance Mincing Minuet, which
will damage all the enemies. Have them Wait out all their turns and they will
keep on Mincing. When the Dancers get hit, Vanish will turn them invisible.
Now, if you act while invisible, you'll become visible again... but if you just
wait, you keep using Mincing Minuet, and it doesn't count as an action! In
other words, you can stay invisible (and consequently inVINCible) and keep
damaging the enemies. You can't lose! Well, except for Ramza... just have run
and hide; he'll Mimic all the Minuets. (In non-story battles, you can dump
Ramza in favor of another Dancer.)
KEEP YOURSELF ALIVE
1 female character with Chantage
Another character with Ninja Gear, the Invisiblity Cloak, or Septie`me perfume
------------------------------------------------------
Chantage makes a character virtually invulnerable by giving her a permanent
Reraise ... but, of course, the one catch is that at least one other character
has to be still alive for the Reraise to work. What to do? Make another
teammate invisible (using the Ninja Gear, Invisibility Cloak, or Septie`me)
and have him/her hide in the corner where s/he won't get hit. As long as the
invisible character doesn't act and stays invisible, s/he won't get targeted by
enemies and can't die. This means the character with Chantage can Reraise
indefinitely! You can't lose! The only possible snag is if the invisible
character gets caught in the effect radius of a wide-range spell, which will
cause you to lose invisibility, but hiding in the corner is usually a good way
to keep this from happening.
*******************************************************************************
VIII. EQUIPMENT AND ITEMS 00equip
*******************************************************************************
A few words of introduction here as well: Many (but not all) items can be
bought at the Outfitters, but most are not available at the start of the game.
As you progress through the game, the shop inventories go through a series of
revisions. In the tables below, the SHOP column denotes which revision makes
the item available:
#1: Beginning of Game
#2: Chapter I - After reaching Eagrose Castle
#3: Chapter I - After Sand Rat's Sieve
#4: Chapter I - After defeating Milleuda at Lenalian Plateau
#5: Chapter II - Beginning of chapter
#6: Chapter II - After Ovelia and Agrias join as guests
#7: Chapter II - After reaching Lionel Castle
#8: Chapter II - After reaching Goug
#9: Chapter II - After battle at Balias Tor
#10: Chapter III - Beginning of chapter
#11: Chapter III - After Alma joins as guest
#12: Chapter III - After battles at Orbonne Monastery
#13: Chapter III - After Rapha joins as guest
#14: Chapter IV - Beginning of chapter
#15: Chapter IV - After Fort Besselat
#16: Chapter IV - After battles at Limberry Castle
A "--" in the SHOP column indicates the item is NEVER available at stores --
see the Rare and Missable Items for information on where to get these.
All items, including ones that can't be bought at the Outfitters, can be sold
for 1/2 the listed price. Items acquired through the Poacher's Den are
bought for 1/2 the listed price.
# denotes an item that can ONLY be obtained in the game's multiplayer mode.
%%%WEAPONS%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00weap
In the tables below, PARRY is the evasion rate granted by the weapon when used
with the Knight's Parry reaction ability. Without Parry equipped, this
statistic has no effect.
Each class of weapons also has several extra characteristics. "Dual Wield"
indicates whether the weapon can be used with the Ninja's Dual Wield ability,
which allows you to equip two weapons at once.
"Doublehand" indicates whether the weapon can be used with the Samurai's
Doublehand ability, which allows you to wield one weapon with both hands to
increase your attack power. "Doublehand: Only" means that the weapon type
ALWAYS requires both hands. You don't Doublehand to use these weapons, but you
also can't use Doublehand to increase their attack power.
The horizontal range is how many tiles the weapon reaches. The vertical range
is the maximum allowable difference in height between you and your target. A *
here indicates an unlimited vertical range. Note that many weapons have
different vertical range when used to attack upwards (i.e., an enemy above you)
vs. when used to attack downards. Unlike magick, all weapons have an effect
radius of 1 tile only -- they only strike a single target.
Finally, many weapons have various special effects. Most commonly, these are
one of the following:
- "Inflicts:" - The weapon inflicts a status effect on its target.
- "Always:" - The weapon gives the user a permanent status effect.
- "Boosts:" - The weapon increases the power of spells of the named element
when cast by the user (e.g. "Boosts: Ice" increases the power of ice
spells cast by the person with the weapon).
- "Casts:" - The weapon will sometimes cast a particular magick on its
target after dealing its regular damage.
- "____ elemental" - The weapon does elemental damage
---Knives----------------------------------------------------------------------
Used By : Dual Wield : Yes
Regular Jobs: Squire, Chemist, Thief, Orator, Ninja, Doublehand : No
Dancer, Onion Knight Horiz. range : 1
Special Jobs: Squire [Ramza], Machinist, Game Hunter, Vert. range : 2 up,
Templar, Sky Pirate 3 down
With Ability: none
PRICE ATK PARRY SHOP SPECIAL
Dagger 100 3 5% #1
Mythril Knife 500 4 5% #2
Blind Knife 800 4 5% #3 Inflicts: Blind
Mage Masher 1500 4 5% #4 Inflicts: Silence
Platinum Dagger 1800 5 10% #6
Main Gauche 3000 6 40% #11
Orichalcum Dirk 4000 7 5% #12
Assassin's Dagger 5000 7 5% #13 Inflicts: Doom
Air Knife 8000 10 5% #15 Wind elemental
Zwill Straightblade 12000 12 10% -- Inflicts: Sleep
---Ninja Blades----------------------------------------------------------------
Used By : Dual Wield : Yes
Regular Jobs: Ninja, Onion Knight Doublehand : Yes
Special Jobs: Sword Saint Horiz. range : 1
With Ability: none Vert. range : 2 up,
3 down
PRICE ATK PARRY SHOP SPECIAL
Ninja Blade 3000 8 5% #10
Kunai 5000 9 5% #11
Kodachi 7000 10 5% #12
Ninja Longblade 10000 12 5% #13
Spellbinder 16000 13 5% #14 Inflicts: Disable
Sasuke's Blade 10 14 15% --
Iga Blade 10 15 10% --
Koga Blade 10 15 5% --
Orochi # 10 20 5% -- Drains HP from target to wielder
Moonsilk Blade # 10 26 5% --
---Swords----------------------------------------------------------------------
Used By : Dual Wield : Yes
Regular Jobs: Squire, Knight, Geomancer, Dark Knight, Doublehand : Yes
Onion Knight Horiz. range : 1
Special Jobs: Squire [Ramza], Squire [Delita], Vert. range : 2 up,
Squire [Argath], Fell Knight, Holy Knight, 3 down
Game Hunter, Templar, Sky Pirate,
Sword Saint, Soldier, Divine Knight, Ark Knight
With Ability: Equip Swords [Knight]
PRICE ATK PARRY SHOP SPECIAL
Nagnarok 10 1 50% -- Inflicts: Toad
Broadsword 200 4 5% #1
Longsword 500 5 10% #2
Iron Sword 900 6 5% #3
Mythril Sword 1600 7 8% #4
Coral Sword 3300 8 5% #6 Lightning elemental
Blood Sword 2500 8 5% -- Drains HP from target to wielder
Ancient Sword 5000 9 5% #10 Inflicts: Immobilize
Sleep Blade 5000 9 5% #11 Inflicts: Sleep
Diamond Sword 8000 10 10% #12
Materia Blade 10 10 10% -- Enables Cloud's Limit command
Platinum Sword 11000 12 10% #13
Icebrand 14000 13 10% #14 Ice elemental; Casts: Blizzaga
Runeblade 20000 14 15% #15 Magick AT+2
Moonblade # 10 20 15% -- Always: Haste
Onion Sword # 10 50 15% -- Only equippable by Onion Knights!
---Knight's Swords-------------------------------------------------------------
Used By : Dual Wield : Yes
Regular Jobs: Knight, Dark Knight, Onion Knight Doublehand : Yes
Special Jobs: Squire [Ramza] (ch.4), Fell Knight, Horiz. range : 1
Holy Knight, Game Hunter, Templar, Vert. range : 2 up,
Sky Pirate, Sword Saint, Divine Knight, 3 down
Ark Knight
With Ability: none
PRICE ATK PARRY SHOP SPECIAL
Defender 40000 16 60% --
Save the Queen 10 18 30% -- Always: Protect
Excalibur 10 21 30% -- Always: Haste; Absorbs: Holy;
Boosts: Holy
Ragnarok 10 24 20% -- Always: Shell
Durandal # 10 26 40% -- Holy elemental;
Always: Shell, Protect
Chaos Blade 10 40 20% -- Always: Regen; Inflicts: Stone
---Katanas---------------------------------------------------------------------
Used By : Dual Wield : Yes
Regular Jobs: Samurai, Onion Knight Doublehand : Yes
Special Jobs: Sword Saint Horiz. range : 1
With Ability: Equip Katana [Samurai] Vert. range : 2 up,
3 down
PRICE ATK PARRY SHOP SPECIAL
Ashura 1600 7 15% #7
Kotestu 3000 8 15% #7
Osafune 5000 9 15% #9
Murasame 7000 10 15% #10
Ama-no-Murakumo 8000 11 15% #11
Kiyomori 10000 12 15% #13
Muramasa 15000 14 15% #14
Kiku-ichimonji 22000 15 15% #15
Masamune 10 18 15% --
Chirijiraden 10 25 15% --
---Fell Swords-----------------------------------------------------------------
Used By : Dual Wield : Yes
Regular Jobs: Dark Knight, Onion Knight Doublehand : Yes
Special Jobs: none Horiz. range : 1
With Ability: none Vert. range : 2 up,
3 down
PRICE ATK PARRY SHOP SPECIAL
Chaosbringer # 10 16 0% -- Dark elemental, Inflicts: Blind
Deathbringer # 10 20 0% -- Dark elemental, Inflicts: Doom
Arondight # 10 24 0% -- Dark elemental, Inflicts: Slow
Balmung # 10 32 0% -- Dark elemental, Inflicts: Stop
Valhalla # 10 40 0% -- Dark elemental;
Inflicts: instant KO
---Axes------------------------------------------------------------------------
Used By : Dual Wield : No
Regular Jobs: Squire, Geomancer, Dark Knight, Doublehand : Only
Onion Knight Horiz. range : 1
Special Jobs: Squire [Argath] Vert. range : 2 up,
With Ability: Equip Axes [Squire] 3 down
PRICE ATK PARRY SHOP SPECIAL
Battle Axe 1500 9 0% #4
Giant's Axe 4000 12 0% #7
Slasher 12000 16 0% #11 Inflicts: Slow
Francisca # 10 24 0% --
Golden Axe 10 30 0% --
Note: All axes do variable damage. The actual damage inflicted may be more or
less than the estimate you see. (The estimate is the *average* damage you'll
inflict.)
---Rods------------------------------------------------------------------------
Used By : Dual Wield : Yes
Regular Jobs: Black Mage, Summoner, Mystic, Doublehand : Yes
Onion Knight Horiz. range : 1
Special Jobs: Netherseer Vert. range : 2 up,
With Ability: none 3 down
PRICE ATK PARRY SHOP SPECIAL
Rod 200 3 20% #1
Thunder Rod 400 3 20% #3 Lightning elemental;
Boosts: Lightning,
Casts: Lightning
Flame Rod 400 3 20% #3 Fire elemental; Boosts: Fire;
Casts: Fire
Ice Rod 400 3 20% #3 Ice elemental; Boosts: Ice;
Casts: Blizzard
Poison Rod 500 3 20% #6 Inflicts: Poison
Wizard's Rod 8000 4 20% #12 Magick AT+2
Dragon Rod 12000 5 20% --
Rod of Faith 10 5 20% -- Always: Faith; Inflicts: Faith
Stardust Rod # 10 5 20% -- Magick AT+3; Casts: Gravity
Crown Scepter # 10 5 20% -- Magick AT+4
---Staves----------------------------------------------------------------------
Used By : Dual Wield : Yes
Regular Jobs: White Mage, Time Mage, Summoner, Mystic, Doublehand : Yes
Onion Knight Horiz. range : 1
Special Jobs: Princess, Cleric, Skyseer Vert. range : 2 up,
With Ability: none 3 down
PRICE ATK PARRY SHOP SPECIAL
Oak Staff 120 3 15% #1
White Staff 800 3 15% #3 Removes (from target): Doom
Serpent Staff 2200 5 15% #6
Mage's Staff 4000 4 15% #9 Magick AT+1
Healing Staff 4000 4 15% -- Restores HP instead of inflicting
damage
Nirvana # 10 5 15% -- Holy elemental, Magick AT+3
Dreamwaker # 10 5 15% -- Magick AT+4
Golden Staff 7000 6 15% #12
Zeus Mace 10 6 15% -- Physical AT+2, Magick AT+1
Staff of the Magi 10 7 15% --
---Flails----------------------------------------------------------------------
Used By : Dual Wield : Yes
Regular Jobs: Squire, Ninja, Dark Knight, Onion Knight Doublehand : Yes
Special Jobs: Squire [Ramza], Squire [Delita], Horiz. range : 1
Squire [Argath], Game Hunter Vert. range : 2 up,
With Ability: none 3 down
PRICE ATK PARRY SHOP SPECIAL
Iron Flail 1200 9 0% #9
Flame Mace 4000 11 0% #11 Fire elemental; Casts: Fira
Morning Star 9000 16 0% #13
Scorpion Tail 40000 23 0% --
Vesper # 10 36 0% --
Note: All axes do variable damage. The actual damage inflicted may be more or
less than the estimate you see. (The estimate is the *average* damage you'll
inflict.)
---Guns------------------------------------------------------------------------
Used By : Dual Wield : No
Regular Jobs: Chemist, Orator, Onion Knight Doublehand : No
Special Jobs: Machinist, Sky Pirate Horiz. range : 3-8
With Ability: Equip Guns [Orator] Vert. range : * up,
* down
PRICE ATK PARRY SHOP SPECIAL
Romandan Pistol 5000 6 5% #8
Mythril Gun 15000 8 5% #11
Ras Algethi 28000 12 5% --
Stoneshooter 10 16 5% -- Inflicts: Stone; user begins each
battle with Stone status
Fomalhaut # 10 18 5% --
Glacial Gun 10 20 5% -- Ice elemental; variable damage*
Blaze Gun 10 21 5% -- Fire elemental; variable damage*
Blaster 10 22 5% -- Lightning elemental;
variable damage*
Note: All guns have a 100% hit rate, although Shirahadori can still be used to
block them.
* Note 2: These three guns do variable damage. The actual damage inflicted may
be MORE than the estimate you see. (Unlike with axes or flails, the damage
done by elemental guns is never LESS than the estimate.)
---Crossbows-------------------------------------------------------------------
Used By : Dual Wield : No
Regular Jobs: Archer, Onion Knight Doublehand : No
Special Jobs: Sky Pirate, Divine Knight Horiz. range : 3-4
With Ability: Equip Crossbows [Archer] Vert. range : * up,
* down
PRICE ATK PARRY SHOP SPECIAL
Bowgun 400 3 5% #2
Knightslayer 1500 3 5% #4 Inflicts: Blind
Crossbow 2000 4 5% #7
Poison Bow 4000 4 5% #10 Inflicts: Poison
Hunting Bow 8000 6 5% #12
Gastrophetes 20000 10 5% #15
---Bows------------------------------------------------------------------------
Used By : Dual Wield : No
Regular Jobs: Archer, Onion Knight Doublehand : Only
Special Jobs: Sky Pirate Horiz. range : 3-5*
With Ability: none Vert. range : * up,
* down
PRICE ATK PARRY SHOP SPECIAL
Long Bow 800 4 0% #3
Silver Bow 1500 5 0% #4
Ice Bow 2000 5 0% #5 Ice elemental
Lightning Bow 3000 6 0% #7 Lightning elemental;
Casts: Thundaga
Mythril Bow 5000 7 0% #10
Windslash Bow 8000 8 0% #12 Wind elemental
Artemis Bow 22000 10 0% --
Yoichi Bow 10 12 0% --
Perseus Bow 10 16 0% --
Sagittarius Bow # 10 24 0% --
* Note: Bows have a horizontal range of 3-5 on level ground. Attacking
downwards INCREASES the maximum range, while firing upwards decreases your
range. From a high vantage point, you can shoot extremely far!
---Instruments-----------------------------------------------------------------
Used By : Dual Wield : No
Regular Jobs: Bard, Onion Knight Doublehand : No
Special Jobs: none Horiz. range : 1-3
With Ability: none Vert. range : * up,
* down
PRICE ATK PARRY SHOP SPECIAL
Lamia's Harp 5000 10 10% #7 Inflicts: Confusion
Bloodstring Harp 10000 13 10% #12 Drains HP from target to wielder
Faerie Harp 30000 15 10% -- Inflicts: Charm
---Books-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Used By : Dual Wield : No
Regular Jobs: Mystic, Arithmetician, Onion Knight Doublehand : No
Special Jobs: Astrologer Horiz. range : 1-3
With Ability: none Vert. range : * up,
* down
PRICE ATK PARRY SHOP SPECIAL
Battle Folio 3000 7 15% #7
Bestiary 6000 8 15% #11
Papyrus Codex 10000 9 15% #12
Omnilex 30000 11 15% --
---Polearms--------------------------------------------------------------------
Used By : Dual Wield : No
Regular Jobs: Dragoon, Onion Knight Doublehand : Yes
Special Jobs: Sky Pirate, Divine Knight Horiz. range : 1-2
With Ability: Equip Polearms [Dragoon] Vert. range : 3 up,
3 down
PRICE ATK PARRY SHOP SPECIAL
Javelin 1000 8 10% #5
Spear 2000 9 10% #7
Mythril Spear 4500 10 10% #10
Partisan 7000 11 10% #12
Obelisk 10000 12 10% #15
Holy Lance 18000 14 10% -- Holy elemental; Casts: Holy
Dragon Whisker 44000 17 10% --
Gae Bolg # 10 24 15% --
Gungnir # 10 29 15% -- Lightning elemental
Javelin (II) 1000 30 10% --
---Poles-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Used By : Dual Wield : No
Regular Jobs: Mystic, Arithmetician, Onion Knight Doublehand : Yes
Special Jobs: none Horiz. range : 1-2
With Ability: none Vert. range : 3 up,
3 down
PRICE ATK PARRY SHOP SPECIAL
Cypress Pole 1000 6 20% #6
Battle Bamboo 1400 7 20% #7
Musk Pole 2400 8 20% #10
Iron Fan 4000 9 20% #11
Gokuu Pole 7500 10 20% #12 Inflicts: Atheist
Ivory Pole 10000 11 20% --
Eight-fluted Pole 20000 12 20% #15 Removes (from target): Blind,
Silence, Oil, Toad, Poison, Slow,
Stop, Immobilize, Disable
Whale Whisker 37000 16 20% --
---Bags------------------------------------------------------------------------
Used By : Dual Wield : No
Regular Jobs: Women (any job), Onion Knights (m or f!) Doublehand : No
Special Jobs: Women (any job) Horiz. range : 1
With Ability: none Vert. range : 2 up,
3 down
PRICE ATK PARRY SHOP SPECIAL
Pantherskin Bag 52000 12 0% #12 Always: Regen
Croakadile Bag 53000 10 0% #10 Magick AT+1
Hydrascale Bag 58000 14 0% #15 Speed+1
Fallingstar Bag 60000 20 0% --
---Cloths----------------------------------------------------------------------
Used By : Dual Wield : No
Regular Jobs: Dancer, Onion Knight Doublehand : No
Special Jobs: none Horiz. range : 1-2
With Ability: none Vert. range : 3 up,
3 down
PRICE ATK PARRY SHOP SPECIAL
Damask Cloth 7000 8 50% #11
Cashmere 15000 10 50% #13
Wyrmweave Silk 40000 15 50% --
%%%SHIELDS%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00sh
Shields are used to increase your evade rate. The PHYS and MAG columns show
the evasion rate of the shield for physical and magickal attacks, respectively.
Note that shields are ineffective against attacks from the rear.
Used By:
Regular Jobs : Knight, Archer, Geomancer, Dragoon, Dark Knight, Onion Knight
Special Jobs : Squire [Ramza] (ch. 2+), Fell Knight, Holy Knight,
Game Hunter, Templar, Sky Pirate, Sword Saint, Divine Knight,
Ark Knight
With Ability : Equip Shields [Knight]
PRICE PHYS MAG SHOP SPECIAL
Escutcheon 400 10% 3% #2
Buckler 700 13% 3% #3
Bronze Shield 1200 16% 0% #4
Round Shield 1600 19% 0% #5
Mythril Shield 2500 22% 5% #6
Golden Shield 3500 25% 0% #7
Ice Shield 6000 28% 0% #10 Absorbs: Ice; Halves: Fire;
Weakness: Lightning
Flame Shield 6500 31% 0% #10 Absorbs: Fire; Halves: Ice;
Weakness: Water
Aegis Shield 10000 10% 50% #1 Magick AT+1
Diamond Shield 12000 34% 15% #12
Platinum Shield 16000 37% 10% #14
Crystal Shield 21000 40% 15% #15
Genji Shield # 10 43% 0% --
Kaiser Shield 10 46% 20% -- Boosts: Fire, Lightning, Ice
Venetian Shield 10 50% 25% -- Halves: Fire, Lightning, Ice
Reverie Shield # 10 50% 25% -- Halves: All elemental damage
Escutcheon (II) 400 75% 50% --
%%%HEADGEAR%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00head
Headgear (and armor) increases maximum HP and MP. The HP and MP columns show
how much each piece of gear increases your HP/MP.
---Helms-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Used By:
Regular Jobs : Knight, Dragoon, Samurai, Dark Knight, Onion Knight
Special Jobs : Squire [Ramza] (ch. 2+), Fell Knight, Holy Knight,
Game Hunter, Templar, Sky Pirate, Sword Saint, Divine Knight,
Ark Knight
With Ability : Equip Heavy Armor [Knight]
PRICE HP MP SHOP SPECIAL
Leather Helm 200 10 0 #2
Bronze Helm 500 20 0 #2
Iron Helm 1000 30 0 #3
Barbut 1500 40 0 #5
Mythril Helm 2100 50 0 #6
Golden Helm 2800 60 0 #7
Close Helmet 4000 70 0 #10
Diamond Helm 6000 80 0 #11
Platinum Helm 8000 90 0 #13
Circlet 10000 100 0 #13
Crystal Helm 14000 120 0 #15
Genji Helm # 10 130 0 --
Grand Helm 10 150 0 -- Immune: Blind, Sleep
Vanguard Helm # 10 150 20 --
Onion Helm # 10 200 0 -- Only equippable by Onion Knights
--Hats-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Used By:
Regular Jobs : Squire, Chemist, Archer, White Mage, Black Mage, Time Mage,
Summoner, Thief, Orator, Mystic, Geomancer, Ninja,
Arithmetician, Bard, Dancer, Onion Knight
Special Jobs : Squire [Ramza], Squire [Delita], Squire [Argath], Princess,
Machinist, Astrologer, Cleric, Game Hunter, Skyseer,
Netherseer, Sky Pirate, Sword Saint, Soldier
With Ability : none
Used By: Squire, Chemist, Archer, White Mage, Black Mage, Time Mage, Summoner,
Thief, Orator, Mystic, Geomancer, Ninja, Arithmetician, Bard, Dancer
PRICE HP MP SHOP SPECIAL
Leather Cap 150 8 0 #1
Plumed Hat 350 16 5 #2
Red Hood 800 24 8 #3
Headgear 1200 32 0 #5 Physical AT+1
Wizard's Hat 1800 40 12 #6 Magick AT+1
Green Beret 3000 48 0 #7 Speed+1
Headband 5000 56 0 #10 Physical AT+2
Celebrant's Miter 6000 64 20 #11 Magick AT+1
Black Cowl 7000 72 0 #12
Gold Hairpin 12000 80 50 #13 Immune: Silence
Lambent Hat 16000 88 15 #15 Magick AT+1, Speed+1
Thief's Cap 35000 100 0 #16 Speed+2; Immune: Immobilize, Disable
Acacia Hat # 10 120 20 -- Speed+2; Immune: Berserk, Charm,
Confuse
---Hair Adornments-------------------------------------------------------------
Used By:
Regular Jobs : Women (any job), Onion Knights (of either gender)
Special Jobs : Soldier
With Ability : none
PRICE HP MP SHOP SPECIAL
Cachusha 20000 20 0 -- Immune: Undead, Blind, Silence,
Toad, Poison, Slow, Immobilize,
Disable, Doom
Barette 20000 20 0 -- Immune: KO, Stone, Traitor, Confuse,
Vampire, Berserk, Stop, Charm,
Sleep
Ribbon 60000 10 0 -- Immune: All negative status except
Chicken, Oil, Atheist, and Faith
%%%ARMOR%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00armor
Armor (and headgear) increases maximum HP and MP. The HP and MP columns show
how much each piece of gear increases your HP/MP.
---Armor-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Used By:
Regular Jobs : Knight, Dragoon, Samurai, Dark Knight, Onion Knight
Special Jobs : Squire [Ramza] (ch. 2+), Fell Knight, Holy Knight,
Game Hunter, Templar, Sky Pirate, Sword Saint, Divine Knight,
Ark Knight
With Ability : Equip Heavy Armor [Knight]
PRICE HP MP SHOP SPECIAL
Leather Armor 200 10 0 #2
Linen Cuirass 600 20 0 #2
Bronze Armor 800 30 0 #3
Chainmail 1300 40 0 #4
Mythril Armor 2000 50 0 #5
Plate Mail 3000 60 0 #6
Golden Armor 3600 70 0 #7
Diamond Armor 6000 80 0 #11
Platinum Armor 9000 90 0 #13
Carabineer Mail 13000 100 0 #14
Mirror Mail 18000 130 0 #15 Always: Reflect
Crystal Mail 19000 110 0 #15
Genji Armor 10 150 0 --
Grand Armor # 10 170 0 -- Always: Regen, Reraise
Maximillian 10 200 0 --
Onion Armor # 10 250 0 -- Only equippable by Onion Knights;
Always: Regen, Reraise, Shell,
Protect
---Clothes---------------------------------------------------------------------
Used By:
Regular Jobs : All except Knight, Dragoon, Samurai, Mime, Dark Knight
Special Jobs : All except Holy Dragon, Automaton, Dragonkin, Byblos
With Ability : none
PRICE HP MP SHOP SPECIAL
Clothing 150 5 0 #1
Leather Clothing 300 10 0 #2
Leather Plate 500 18 0 #3
Ringmail 900 24 0 #4
Mythril Vest 1500 30 0 #5
Adamant Vest 1600 36 0 #6
Wizard Clothing 1900 42 15 #7
Brigandine 2500 50 0 #9
Jujitsu Gi 4000 60 0 #11 Physical AT+1; Immune: KO
Power Garb 7000 70 0 #12 Physical AT+2
Gaia Gear 10000 85 10 #14 Absorbs: Earth; Boosts: Earth
Black Garb 12000 100 0 #15 Immune: Stop
Ninja Gear 10 20 0 -- Speed+2; Always: Invisible
Mirage Vest 10 120 0 -- Speed+1;
Immune: Stone, Poison, Sleep
Minerva Bustier # 10 120 0 -- Only equippable by women;
Immune: Fire, Lightning, Wind,
Darkness; Halves: Ice, Water,
Earth, Holy
Rubber Suit 48000 150 50 -- Immune: Lightning
Brave Suit # 10 160 40 -- Always: Reraise, Regen
---Robes-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Used By:
Regular Jobs : Knight, White Mage, Black Mage, Time Mage, Summoner, Orator,
Mystic, Geomancer, Dragoon, Samurai, Arithmetician,
Dark Knight, Onion Knight
Special Jobs : Squire [Ramza], Squire [Delita], Fell Knight, Holy Knight,
Princess, Cleric, Game Hunter, Skyseer, Netherseer, Templar,
Sky Pirate, Sword Saint, Divine Knight, Ark Knight
With Ability : none
PRICE HP MP SHOP SPECIAL
Hempen Robe 1200 10 10 #3
Silken Robe 2400 20 16 #4
Wizard's Robe 4000 30 22 #7 Magick AT+2
Chameleon Robe 5000 40 28 #11 Immune: KO; Absorbs: Holy
White Robe 9000 50 34 #12 Halves: Fire, Lightning, Ice
Black Robe 13000 60 30 #13 Boosts: Fire, Lightning, Ice
Luminous Robe 30000 75 50 #15
Lordly Robe 10 100 80 -- Physical AT+2, Magick AT+1;
Always: Protect, Shell
Sage's Robe # 10 120 100 -- Halves: All elemental damage
%%%ACCESSORIES%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00acc
---Shoes-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Used By: All except Mime and Dragonkin
PRICE SHOP EFFECT
Battle Boots 1000 #2 Move+1
Spiked Boots 1200 #5 Jump+1
Rubber Boots 1500 #7 Immune: Immobilize, Lightning
Winged Boots 2500 #10 Always: Float
Germinas Boots 5000 #11 Move+1, Jump+1
Hermes Shoes 7000 #13 Speed+1
Red Shoes 10000 #15 Magick AT+1, Move+1
Gaius Caligae # 10 -- Move+2
---Gauntlets-------------------------------------------------------------------
Used By: All except Mime and Dragonkin
PRICE SHOP EFFECT
Power Gauntlet 5000 #6 Physical AT+1
Magepower Glove 20000 #10 Magick AT+2
Bracer 50000 #13 Physical AT+3
Genji Glove # 10 -- Physical AT+2, Magick AT+2
Brigand's Gloves # 10 -- Speed+1; Always: Haste
Onion Gloves # 10 -- Only equippable by Onion Knights; Immune: All
negative status except Chicken, Oil,
Atheist, and Faith
---Rings-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Used By: All except Mime
PRICE SHOP EFFECT
Protect Ring 5000 #7 Immune: Sleep, Doom
Magick Ring 10000 #12 Immune: Silence, Berserk
Reflect Ring 10000 #10 Always: Reflect
Angel Ring 20000 #14 Immune: KO, Blind; Always: Reraise
Cursed Ring 10 -- Physical AT+1, Magick AT+1, Speed+1;
Always: Undead; Immune: Traitor
Sage's Ring # 10 -- Absorbs: All 8 elements;
Boosts: All 8 elements
Note: The Angel Ring always starts you with a Reraise, but, unlike the
Chantage, it only gives you one Reraise per battle. If you're KOed a second
time, you won't Reraise.
---Armlets---------------------------------------------------------------------
Used By: All except Mime
PRICE SHOP EFFECT
Diamond Bracelet 5000 #9 Physical AT+1, Magick AT+1; Immune: Slow
Guardian Bracelet 7000 #7 Immune: Immobilize, Disable
Nu Khai Armband 10000 #10 Immune: Confuse, Charm; Halves: Dark
Jade Armlet 10000 #11 Immune: Stone, Stop
Japa Mala 15000 #12 Immune: Undead, Vampire, Toad, Poison;
Boosts: All 8 elements
Empyreal Armband # 10 -- Speed+1; Immune: Slow, Stop, Immobilize
---Cloaks----------------------------------------------------------------------
Used By: All except Mime and Dragonkin
PRICE PHYS MAG SHOP SPECIAL
Shoulder Cape 300 10% 10% #3
Leather Cloak 800 15% 15% #5
Mage's Cloak 2000 18% 18% #7 Magick AT+1
Elven Cloak 8000 25% 25% #11
Vampire Cape 15000 28% 28% #13
Featherweave Cloak 20000 40% 30% #15
Invisibility Cloak 10 35% 0% -- Always: Invisible
---Perfumes--------------------------------------------------------------------
Used By: Women, Onion Knights (of either gender)
PRICE SHOP EFFECT
Cherche 30000 -- Always: Float, Reflect
Sortile'ge 30000 -- Always: Protect, Shell
Chantage 60000 -- Always: Reraise, Regen
Septie`me 30000 -- Magick AT+1; Always: Haste, Invisible
(Chantage rocks, the Reraise never disappears so you can just keep coming back
to life an infinite number of times!)
---Lip Rouge-------------------------------------------------------------------
Used By: Women, Onion Knights (of either gender)
PRICE SHOP EFFECT
Tynar Rouge 10 -- Phys AT+3; Mag AT+3; Boosts: Holy;
Always: Protect, Shell, Haste
%%%ITEMS%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00item
---Potions---------------------------------------------------------------------
Used By: Chemist (Items)
PRICE SHOP EFFECT
Potion 50 #1 Restores 30 HP
Antidote 50 #1 Removes: Poison
Eye Drops 50 #1 Removes: Blind
Echo Herbs 50 #2 Removes: Silence
Maiden's Kiss 50 #2 Removes: Toad
Golden Needle 100 #2 Removes: Stone
Hi-Potion 200 #3 Removes: 70 HP
Ether 200 #7 Removes: 20 MP
Phoenix Down 300 #1 Removes: KO, restores minimal HP
Remedy 350 #7 Removes: Stone, Blind, Confuse, Silence, Oil,
Toad, Poison, Sleep
Hi-Ether 600 #12 Restores 50 MP
X-Potion 700 #10 Restores 150 HP
Holy Water 2000 #5 Removes: Undead, Vampire
Elixir 10 -- Restores HP and MP completely
---Bombs-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Used By: Ninja (Throw)
PRICE ATK SHOP SPECIAL
Flameburst Bomb 250 8 #7 Fire elemental
Snowmelt Bomb 250 8 #7 Ice elemental
Spark Bomb 250 8 #7 Lightning elemental
---Stars-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Used By: Ninja (Throw)
PRICE ATK SHOP SPECIAL
Shuriken 50 4 #5
Fuma Shuriken 300 7 #11
Yagyu Darkrood 1000 10 #14
*******************************************************************************
IX. ERRANDS 00err
*******************************************************************************
New errands appear in the Taverns as you progress through the game. Each
town has its own set of Errands.
Occasionally, the characters sent on an errand may fail to complete it. If
this happens, let the calendar advance a month and the errand should re-appear
in the Tavern.
As listed below, some errands will yield Artefact or Wonder of the World when
you complete them. The specific artefact or wonder you receive is random, but
the errands that give you them are fixed.
[ This section needs some updating and expanding; I'll get to it a future
revision of the FAQ! ]
---Chapter II------------------------------------------------------------------
Mount Gulg Mother Lode
Chapter: 2 Days: 15-16 Location: Eagrose Castle
Cost: 3100 Reward: Gil, artefact, JP
Bandits
Chapter: 2 Days: 11-13 Location: Merchant City of Dorter
Cost: 600 Reward: Gil, JP
Shoreline Defense
Chapter: 2 Days: 8-9 Location: Magick City of Gariland
Cost: 3050 Reward: Gil, JP
Miner's Tale
Chapter: 2 Days: 8-11 Location: Magick City of Gariland
Cost: 600 Reward: Gil, JP
The Hindenburg
Chapter: 2 Days: 8-15 Location: Castled City of Zaland
Cost: 100 Reward: Gil, JP
Zaland Embassy Antiques
Chapter: 2 Days: 10-12 Location: Castled City of Zaland
Cost: 6000 Reward: Gil, artefact, JP
My Little Carrot
Chapter: 2 Days: 15-16 Location: Lionel Castle
Cost: 100 Reward: Gil, JP
Miner Shortage
Chapter: 2 Days: 7-9 Location: Clockwork City of Goug
Cost: 100 Reward: Gil, JP
The Highwind
Chapter: 2 Days: 5-8 Location: Port City of Warjilis
Cost: 1050 Reward: Gil, JP
---Chapter III-----------------------------------------------------------------
Frontier Marathon
Chapter: 3 Days: 14-16 Location: Merchant City of Dorter
Cost: Free Reward: Gil, wonder, JP
Second Frontier Marathon
Chapter: 3 Days: 14-16 Location: Merchant City of Dorter
Cost: Free Reward: Gil, wonder, JP
Note: Must complete above errand first
Third Frontier Marathon
Chapter: 3 Days: 14-16 Location: Merchant City of Dorter
Cost: Free Reward: Gil, wonder, JP
Note: Must complete above errand first
Stolen Tomes
Chapter: 3 Days: 12-16 Location: Magick City of Gariland
Cost: 11000 Reward: Gil, JP
Minstrel in Distress
Chapter: 3 Days: 13-16 Location: Eagrose Castle
Cost: 50 Reward: Gil, JP
Mameco the Minstrel
Chapter: 3 Days: 15-16 Location: Eagrose Castle
Cost: Free Reward: Gil, JP
Note: Use Dancers for this errand, must complete above errand first
Lorraide Mine
Chapter: 3 Days: 10-14 Location: Castled City of Zaland
Cost: 1100 Reward: Gil, JP
The Dawn Queen
Chapter: 3 Days: 8-12 Location: Lionel Castle
Cost: 100 Reward: Gil, JP
Zerro's Challenge
Chapter: 3 Days: 8-9 Location: Lionel Castle
Cost: 50 Reward: Gil, artefact, JP
Mesa's Legacy
Chapter: 3 Days: 10-13 Location: Clockwork City of Goug
Cost: 10000 Reward: Gil, JP
Note: This errand is a rip-off.
Merchant's Regret
Chapter: 3 Days: 14-15 Location: Port City of Warjilis
Cost: 2000 Reward: Gil, wonder, JP
Old Toppa's Will
Chapter: 3 Days: 11-13 Location: Mining Town of Gollund
Cost: 8000 Reward: Gil, JP
Note: Send Chemists on this errand.
Salvage Expedition
Chapter: 3 Days: 10-14 Location: Royal City of Lesalia
Cost: 3000 Reward: Gil, artefact, JP
Abandoned Mine
Chapter: 3 Days: 10-14 Location: Royal City of Lesalia
Cost: 1000 Reward: Gil, artefact, JP
Errands below only appear after completing the battles at Orbonne Monastery.
Guard Duty
Chapter: 3+ Days: 11-13 Location: Eagrose Castle
Cost: 2000 Reward: Gil, artefact, JP
The Siedge Weald
Chapter: 3+ Days: 11-13 Location: Castled City of Zaland
Cost: 1100 Reward: Gil, wonder, JP
Trick of the Light
Chapter: 3+ Days: 14-15 Location: Lionel Castle
Cost: 1050 Reward: Gil, wonder, JP
Fenland Mystery
Chapter: 3+ Days: 13-14 Location: Lionel Castle
Cost: 1100 Reward: Gil, wonder, JP
Diving Expedition
Chapter: 3+ Days: 10-14 Location: Walled City of Yardrow
Cost: 5000 Reward: Gil, JP
Note: Use Archers for this errand
---Chapter IV------------------------------------------------------------------
Gleddia Isle
Chapter: 4 Days: 9-11 Location: Riovanes Castle
Cost: 4000 Reward: Gil, artefact, JP
Foundered Vessel
Chapter: 4 Days: 8-13 Location: Riovanes Castle
Cost: Free Reward: Gil, JP
Note: Must complete above errand first
Fia's Wish
Chapter: 4 Days: 12-14 Location: Riovanes Castle
Cost: 3000 Reward: Gil, JP
Secret Society
Chapter: 4 Days: 2-3 Location: Riovanes Castle
Cost: 600 Reward: Gil, JP
Lettre d'amour
Chapter: 4 Days: 10-12 Location: Riovanes Castle
Cost: Free Reward: Gil, artefact, JP
Arithmeticks Tutor Wanted
Chapter: 4 Days: 10-13 Location: Magick City of Gariland
Cost: 50 Reward: Gil, JP
Hellspawned Beast
Chapter: 4 Days: 14-15 Location: Eagrose Castle
Cost: 1000 Reward: Gil, JP
Metamorphosed Misery
Chapter: 4 Days: 15-16 Location: Eagrose Castle
Cost: 1100 Reward: Gil, JP
Note: Must completed above errand first
Count Minimas
Chapter: 4 Days: 12-14 Location: Merchant City of Dorter
Cost: 600 Reward: Gil, artefact, JP
Count Minimas
Chapter: 4 Days: 12-15 Location: Merchant City of Dorter
Cost: 1000 Reward: Gil, artefact, JP
Note: Must complete above errand first
Count Minimas
Chapter: 4 Days: 11-12 Location: Merchant City of Dorter
Cost: 600 Reward: Gil, JP
Note: Must complete above errand first
Father's Nightmare
Chapter: 4 Days: 15-16 Location: Lionel Castle
Cost: 1500 Reward: Gil, artefact, JP
Note: Use Chemists for this errand
The Durga
Chapter: 4 Days: 11-14 Location: Clockwork City of Goug
Cost: 100 Reward: Gil, artefact, JP
Devil in the Dark
Chapter: 4 Days: 8-10 Location: Clockwork City of Goug
Cost: 3050 Reward: Gil, JP
Rain-Swept Slopes
Chapter: 4 Days: 13-16 Location: Port City of Warjilis
Cost: 600 Reward: Gil, wonder, JP
True Romance
Chapter: 4 Days: 8-12 Location: Port City of Warjilis
Cost: Free Reward: Gil, artefact, JP
Note: Must complete "Lettre d'amour" errand at Riovanes Castle first
In the Darkness
Chapter: 4 Days: 12-14 Location: Port City of Warjilis
Cost: 1500 Reward: Gil, JP
Note: Use White Mages for this errand
Wandering Gambler
Chapter: 4 Days: 9-12 Location: Port City of Warjilis
Cost: 15000 Reward: Gil, JP
Coal Miners Wanted
Chapter: 4 Days: 4-6 Location: Mining Town of Gollund
Cost: 50 Reward: Gil, JP
Note: Use Archers for this errand
More Coal Miners Wanted
Chapter: 4 Days: 4-6 Location: Mining Town of Gollund
Cost: 150 Reward: Gil, artefact, JP
Note: Most complete above errand first, use Archers for this errand
Lamzen the Adventurer
Chapter: 4 Days: 12-16 Location: Mining Town of Gollund
Cost: 1100 Reward: Gil, wonder, JP
Frontier Expedition
Chapter: 4 Days: 10-14 Location: Royal City of Lesalia
Cost: 5000 Reward: Gil, wonder, JP
The Falcon
Chapter: 4 Days: 7-9 Location: Walled City of Yardrow
Cost: 3500 Reward: Gil, artefact, JP
Note: Use Archers for this errand
Endless Caverns
Chapter: 4 Days: 12-14 Location: Free City of Bervenia
Cost: 8000 Reward: Gil, artefact, JP
Past Glory
Chapter: 4 Days: 7-15 Location: Free City of Bervenia
Cost: 500 Reward: Gil, artefact, JP
Note: Use Geomancers for this errand
Beddha Sandwaste
Chapter: 4 Days: 11-15 Location: Free City of Bervenia
Cost: 550 Reward: Gil, wonder, JP
Adventurers Wanted
Chapter: 4 Days: 8-12 Location: Free City of Bervenia
Cost: 100 Reward: Gil, wonder, JP
Shadows from the Past
Chapter: 4 Days: 12-15 Location: Free City of Bervenia
Cost: 3050 Reward: Gil, wonder, JP
Rhana Strait
Chapter: 4 Days: 9-13 Location: Zeltennia Castle
Cost: 3100 Reward: Gil, artefact, JP
Zerro Strikes
Chapter: 4 Days: 8-9 Location: Zeltennia Castle
Cost: 100 Reward: Gil, artefact, JP
Note: Use Chemists for this errand
Nightwalker
Chapter: 4 Days: 8-12 Location: Zeltennia Castle
Cost: 3050 Reward: Gil, JP
Zerro's Return
Chapter: 4 Days: 8-9 Location: Royal City of Lesalia
Cost: 500 Reward: Gil, artefact, JP
Note: Must complete errand "Zerro Strikes" at Zeltennia Castle first
Thief Zerro Reborn!
Chapter: 4 Days: 8-9 Location: Eagrose Castle
Cost: 5000 Reward: Gil, artefact, JP
Note: Must complete above errand first
Himca Cliffs
Chapter: 4 Days: 8-12 Location: Trade City of Sal Ghidos
Cost: 1500 Reward: Gil, wonder, JP
Ore of the Gods
Chapter: 4 Days: 9-11 Location: Trade City of Sal Ghidos
Cost: 13000 Reward: Gil, artefact, JP
Lake Poescas Depths
Chapter: 4 Days: 12-14 Location: Limberry Castle
Cost: 1500 Reward: Gil, wonder, JP
Cellar Dungeon
Chapter: 4 Days: 11-13 Location: Limberry Castle
Cost: 3000 Reward: Gil, wonder, JP
Uninvited Guests
Chapter: 4 Days: 8-13 Location: Limberry Castle
Cost: 3050 Reward: Gil, JP
Gysahl Greens
Chapter: 4 Days: 2-4 Location: Limberry Castle
Cost: 100 Reward: Gil, artefact, JP
Wandering Gambler
Chapter: 4 Days: 11-13 Location: Limberry Castle
Cost: 15000 Reward: Gil, JP
Thief Zerro's Last Stand
Chapter: 4 Days: 8-9 Location: Limberry Castle
Cost: 10000 Reward: Gil, JP
Note: Must complete errand "Thief Zerro Reborn!" at Eagrose Castle first
Errands below only appear after defeating Adrammelech.
Ancient Wonder
Chapter: 4+ Days: 13-14 Location: Eagrose Castle
Cost: 200 Reward: Gil, wonder, JP
Cattedona
Chapter: 4+ Days: 14-15 Location: Castled City of Zaland
Cost: 500 Reward: Gil, JP
Note: Use Orators for this errand
Lionel Emissary
Chapter: 4+ Days: 14-15 Location: Lionel Castle
Cost: 4000 Reward: Gil, artefact, JP
Twilight Gustkov
Chapter: 4+ Days: 14-15 Location: Mining Town of Gollund
Cost: 1000 Reward: Gil, JP
Note: Use Thieves for this errand
Terror's Maw
Chapter: 4+ Days: 13-14 Location: Mining Town of Gollund
Cost: 1500 Reward: Gil, JP
Note: Use Black Mages for this errand
Dream of a Miner
Chapter: 4+ Days: 12-14 Location: Mining Town of Gollund
Cost: 150 Reward: Gil, JP
Note: Must complete above errand first
Ducal Disaster
Chapter: 4+ Days: 15-16 Location: Royal City of Lesalia
Cost: 6000 Reward: Gil, JP
Son, Pappal!
Chapter: 4+ Days: 12-15 Location: Royal City of Lesalia
Cost: 3000 Reward: Gil, JP
Note: Must complete above errand first
Cries in the Dark
Chapter: 4+ Days: 8-11 Location: Royal City of Lesalia
Cost: 3050 Reward: Gil, JP
Salvage Work
Chapter: 4+ Days: 9-14 Location: Walled City of Yardrow
Cost: Free Reward: Gil, JP
Coal Mining Expedition
Chapter: 4+ Days: 10-14 Location: Walled City of Yardrow
Cost: 1000 Reward: Gil, JP
Coal Mining Expedition 2
Chapter: 4+ Days: 10-14 Location: Walled City of Yardrow
Cost: 1000 Reward: Gil, artefact, JP
Note: Must complete above errand first
Historic Revolt
Chapter: 4+ Days: 8-10 Location: Riovanes Castle
Cost: 3050 Reward: Gil, artefact, JP
Tutoring
Chapter: 4+ Days: 8-12 Location: Riovanes Castle
Cost: 200 Reward: Gil, JP
Note: Use magick-users for this errand
The Behemoth
Chapter: 4+ Days: 13-15 Location: Free City of Bervenia
Cost: 500 Reward: Gil, JP
Note: Use Monks for this errand
Dredge Work
Chapter: 4+ Days: 6-10 Location: Zeltennia Castle
Cost: 1000 Reward: Gil, JP
Note: Use Archers for this errand
Missing Boy
Chapter: 4+ Days: 15-16 Location: Zeltennia Castle
Cost: 3500 Reward: Gil, JP
Appraisal
Chapter: 4+ Days: 8-9 Location: Zeltennia Castle
Cost: 550 Reward: Gil, artefact, JP
Note: Use Chemists for this errand
Death's Gorge
Chapter: 4+ Days: 9-14 Location: Trade City of Sal Ghidos
Cost: 13000 Reward: Gil, JP
The Typhoon
Chapter: 4+ Days: 10-13 Location: Trade City of Sal Ghidos
Cost: 11000 Reward: Gil, JP
Note: Use Knights for this errand
Beastly Trail
Chapter: 4+ Days: 11-13 Location: Trade City of Sal Ghidos
Cost: 10000 Reward: Gil, JP
Note: Use Geomancers for this errand
Memories
Chapter: 4+ Days: 10-12 Location: Trade City of Sal Ghidos
Cost: 100 Reward: Gil, JP
---Contest Errands-------------------------------------------------------------
The following "contest" errands don't seem to be associated with any particular
chapter; instead, they only show up at certain times of the year:
Clockwork Faire
Chapter: * Days: 11-13 Location: Clockwork City of Goug
Cost: 100 Reward: Gil, artefact, JP
Note: Use Chemists for this errand
The Arteficer's Contest
Chapter: * Days: 14-16 Location: Clockwork City of Goug
Cost: Free Reward: Gil, JP
Win the Yardrow Fight!
Chapter: * Days: 14-16 Location: Walled City of Yardrow
Cost: Free Reward: Gil, artefact, JP
Gariland Magick Melee
Chapter: * Days: 14-16 Location: Magick City of Gariland
Cost: Free Reward: Gil, artefact, JP
Note: Use magick-users for this errand
The Zaland Melee
Chapter: * Days: 14-16 Location: Castled City of Zaland
Cost: Free Reward: Gil, JP
Notes: Use Monks for this errand
*******************************************************************************
X. REFERENCE
*******************************************************************************
%%%POACHED ITEMS%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00poach
Each monster can give you one of two items when you poach it. There's one you
get most of the time (the common one), and one (the rare one) you only get
occasionally -- about 15% of the time or so.
A place where the monster is commonly found has also been listed. Most
monsters show up in many locations, but there are certain locations where they
show up the most frequently. (Areas marked MD: are floors of Midlight's Deep,
the bonus dungeon.)
Note that poached items only cost half their usual retail price!
In the list below:
* indicates an item that can't be bought in regular stores -- but can also be
found other ways besides poaching
** indicates an item that can ONLY be found by poaching.
COMMON RARE COMMONLY FOUND
Ahriman Fuma Shuriken Air Knife Mount Bervenia
Behemoth Guardian Bracelet Pantherskin Bag MD: The Switchback
Behemoth King * Artemis Bow ** Cherche MD: The Switchback
Black Chocobo Eye Drops X-Potion Balias Swale
Black Goblin Hi-Potion Shoulder Cape The Siedge Weald
Blue Dragon Cashmere * Dragon Rod MD: The Switchback
Bomb Fire Ball Flame Rod The Siedge Weald
Bonesnatch Hi-Potion Partisan Tchigolith Fenlands
Chocobo Phoenix Down Hi-Potion Mandalia Plain
Cockatrice Gold Needle Featherweave Cloak MD: The Interstice
Coeurl Gold Needle Germinas Boots Mount Germinas
Dark Behemoth Wizard's Rod * Stoneshooter MD: The Switchback
Dragon Jade Armlet Hydrascale Bag MD: The Switchback
Dryad Eye Drops * Healing Staff MD: The Switchback
Elder Treant Protect Ring * Defender MD: The Oubliette
Exploder Spark Bomb Fire Shield Lake Poescas
Floating Eye Shuriken Platinum Dagger Lenalian Plateau
Ghast Water Ball Main Gauche Araguay Woods
Ghoul Ether Kunai Araguay Woods
Gobbledygook Mage Masher Ancient Sword MD: The Oubliette
Goblin Potion Hi-Potion Mandalia Plain
Greater Hydra ** Septie`me ** Rubber Suit MD: The Switchback
Greater Malboro Elixir * Omnilex MD: The Catacombs
Grenade Hi-Potion Snowmelt Bomb Lake Poescas
Hydra * Blood Sword * Scorpion Tail MD: The Switchback
Jura Aevis Potion Rubber Boots Zeklaus Desert
Malboro Platinum Dagger Ice Shield Dorvauldar Marsh
Mindflayer Hi-Ether Vampire Cape Zeirchele Falls
Minotaur Coral Sword Slasher Balias Tor
Ochu Nu Khai Armband Chameleon Robe MD: The Catacombs
Pig Maiden's Kiss * Cachusha MD: Terminus
Piscodaemon Echo Grass Hi-Potion Zeirchele Falls
Plague Horror Yagyu Darkrood ** Zwill Straightblade Mount Bervenia
Red Chocobo * Barette Remedy Finnath Creek
Red Dragon * Sortile'ge * Dragon Whisker Beddha Sandwaste
Red Panther Antidote Battle Boots Mandalia Plain
Revenant Hi-Ether Mythril Gun Lake Poescas
Sekhret * Holy Lance * Ivory Pole MD: The Crossing
Skeletal Fiend Mage's Cloak Elven Cloak Zeklaus Desert
Skeleton Holy Water Ether Tchigolith Fenlands
Squidraken Shoulder Cape Sleep Blade Zeirchele Falls
Steelhawk Phoenix Down Hunting Bow Zeklaus Desert
Swine * Chantage * Nagnarok MD: Terminus
Tiamat ** Wyrmweave Silk ** Whale Whisker MD: Terminus
Treant Golden Staff * Faerie Harp MD: The Switchback
Vampire Cat Holy Water Croakadile Bag MD: The Palings
Wild Boar ** Ribbon ** Fallingstar Bag Breeding only!
Wisenkin Battle Axe Giant's Axe Balias Tor
%%%SHOP CHART%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00shop
---Where to Buy Items----------------------------------------------------------
The Outfitters in towns differ in the types of items and equipment they sell.
For example, one town will have Knives but not Crossbows; another will sell
Crossbows but not Knives.
There are actually only six different "catalogs" of item types available. The
Magick City of Gariland, Clockwork City of Goug, and Royal Capital of Lesalia
have unique catalogs. All the other towns can be divided into three types:
TRADE CITY:
Merchant City of Dorter
Port City of Warjilis
Trade City of Sal Ghidos
CASTLE:
Eagrose Castle
Lionel Castle
Riovanes Castle
Zeltennia Castle
Limberry Castle
TOWN:
Castled City of Zaland
Mining Town of Gollund
Walled City of Yardrow
Free City of Bervenia
The items available at each town type are:
TRADE CITY CASTLE TOWN GARILAND* GOUG LESALIA
Knives X X X X
Ninja Blades X
Swords* X X
Katanas X
Axes X
Rods X X X X
Staves X X X
Flails X X
Guns X
Crossbows X X
Bows X X
Instruments X
Books X
Polearms X X
Poles X X X
Bags X X X
Cloths X
Shields X X X
TRADE CITY CASTLE TOWN GARILAND GOUG LESALIA
Helms X X
Hats X X X
TRADE CITY CASTLE TOWN GARILAND GOUG LESALIA
Armor X X
Clothes X X X
Robes X X X
TRADE CITY CASTLE TOWN GARILAND GOUG LESALIA
Accessories X X X X X X
TRADE CITY CASTLE TOWN GARILAND GOUG LESALIA
Shuriken X X
Bombs X X X X
Items X X X X X X
Note: Knight's Swords, Hair Adornments, Perfumes, and Lip Rouge are never
available in stores.
* Note 2: In addition to the item types listed above, Gariland also sells the
Broadsword, but no other types of swords.
---When to Buy Items-----------------------------------------------------------
Within a particular category, the specific items that are available is
determined by how far in the story you've progressed. Reaching certain points
of the game adds new items to the stores. Once a new item appears in a shop,
it is always for sale and never goes away.
Note, however, that even after an item is "unlocked," it does not appear in
every shop. Instead, shops in different towns sell different types of items.
See the list above to see which shops sell which categories of items.
Some items NEVER become available in shops and can only be obtained by
stealing, poaching, the Treasure Hunter ability, or through the multiplayer
missions.
--#1: CHAPTER I - BEGINNING OF GAME--
ITEM TYPE ITEM PRICE
KNIFE: Dagger 100
SWORD: Broadsword 200
ROD: Rod 200
STAFF: Oak Staff 120
HAT: Leather Cap 150
CLOTHES: Clothing 150
ITEM: Potion 50
ITEM: Antidote 50
ITEM: Eye Drops 50
ITEM: Phoenix Down 300
--#2: CHAPTER I - AFTER REACHING EAGROSE CASTLE--
ITEM TYPE ITEM PRICE
KNIFE: Mythril Knife 500
SWORD: Longsword 500
CROSSBOW: Bowgun 400
SHIELD: Escutcheon 400
HELM: Leather Helm 200
HELM: Bronze Helm 500
HAT: Plumed Hat 350
ARMOR: Leather Armor 200
ARMOR: Linen Cuirass 600
CLOTHES: Leather Clothing 300
ACCESSORY: Battle Boots 1000
ITEM: Echo Herbs 50
ITEM: Maiden's Kiss 50
ITEM: Gold Needle 100
--#3: CHAPTER I - AFTER SAND RAT'S SIEVE--
ITEM TYPE ITEM PRICE
KNIFE: Blind Knife 800
SWORD: Iron Sword 900
ROD: Flame Rod 400
ROD: Ice Rod 400
ROD: Thunder Rod 400
STAFF: White Staff 800
BOW: Long Bow 800
SHIELD: Buckler 700
HELM: Iron Helm 1000
HAT: Red Hood 800
ARMOR: Bronze Armor 800
CLOTHES: Leather Plate 500
ROBE: Hempen Robe 1200
ACCESSORY: Shoulder Cape 300
ITEM: Hi-Potion 200
--#4: CHAPTER I - AFTER DEFEATING MILLEUDA AT LENALIAN PLATEAU--
ITEM TYPE ITEM PRICE
KNIFE: Mage Masher 1500
SWORD: Mythril Sword 1600
AXE: Battle Axe 1500
CROSSBOW: Knightslayer 1500
BOW: Silver Bow 1500
SHIELD: Bronze Shield 1200
ARMOR: Chainmail 1300
CLOTHES: Ringmail 900
ROBE: Silken Robe 2400
--#5: CHAPTER II - BEGINNING OF CHAPTER--
ITEM TYPE ITEM PRICE
BOW: Ice Bow 2000
POLEARM: Javelin 1000
SHIELD: Round Shield 1600
HELM: Barbut 1500
HAT: Headgear 1200
ARMOR: Mythril Armor 2000
CLOTHES: Mythril Vest 1500
ACCESSORY: Spiked Boots 1200
ACCESSORY: Leather Cloak 800
ITEM: Holy Water 2000
STAR: Shuriken 50
--#6: CHAPTER II - AFTER OVELIA AND AGRIAS JOIN AS GUESTS--
ITEM TYPE ITEM PRICE
KNIFE: Platinum Dagger 1800
SWORD: Coral Sword 3300
ROD: Poison Rod 500
STAFF: Serpent Staff 2200
POLE: Cypress Pole 1000
SHIELD: Mythril Shield 2500
HELM: Mythril Helm 2100
HAT: Wizard's Hat 1800
ARMOR: Plate Mail 3000
CLOTHES: Adamant Vest 1600
ACCESSORY: Power Gauntlet 5000
--#7: CHAPTER II - AFTER REACHING LIONEL CASTLE--
ITEM TYPE ITEM PRICE
KATANA: Kotetsu 1600
KATANA: Ashura 3000
AXE: Giant's Axe 4000
CROSSBOW: Crossbow 2000
BOW: Lightning Bow 3000
INSTRUMENT: Lamia's Harp 5000
BOOK: Battle Folio 3000
POLEARM: Spear 2000
POLE: Battle Bamboo 1400
SHIELD: Golden Shield 3500
HELM: Golden Helm 2800
HAT: Green Beret 3000
ARMOR: Golden Armor 3600
CLOTHES: Wizard Clothing 1900
ROBE: Wizard's Robe 4000
ACCESSORY: Rubber Boots 1500
ACCESSORY: Protect Ring 5000
ACCESSORY: Guardian Bracelet 7000
ACCESSORY: Mage's Cloak 2000
ITEM: Ether 200
ITEM: Remedy 350
BOMB: Flameburst Bomb 250
BOMB: Snowmelt Bomb 250
BOMB: Spark Bomb 250
--#8: CHAPTER II - AFTER REACHING GOUG--
ITEM TYPE ITEM PRICE
GUN: Romandan Pistol 5000
--#9: CHAPTER II - AFTER RESCUING AGRIAS AT BALIAS TOR--
ITEM TYPE ITEM PRICE
KATANA: Osafune 5000
STAFF: Mage's Staff 4000
FLAIL: Iron Flail 1200
CLOTHES: Brigandine 2500
ACCESSORY: Diamond Bracelet 5000
--#10: CHAPTER III - BEGINNING OF CHAPTER--
ITEM TYPE ITEM PRICE
NINJA BLADE: Ninja Blade 3000
SWORD: Ancient Sword 5000
KATANA: Murasame 7000
CROSSBOW: Poison Bow 4000
BOW: Mythril Bow 5000
POLEARM: Mythril Spear 4500
POLE: Musk Pole 2400
BAG: Croakadile Bag 53000
SHIELD: Ice Shield 6000
SHIELD: Flame Shield 6500
HELM: Close Helmet 4000
HAT: Headband 5000
ACCESSORY: Winged Boots 2500
ACCESSORY: Magepower Glove 20000
ACCESSORY: Reflect Ring 10000
ACCESSORY: Nu Khai Armband 10000
ITEM: X-Potion 700
--#11: CHAPTER III - AFTER ALMA JOINS AS GUEST--
ITEM TYPE ITEM PRICE
KNIFE: Main Gauche 3000
NINJA BLADE: Kunai 5000
SWORD: Sleep Blade 5000
KATANA: Ama-no-Murakumo 8000
AXE: Slasher 12000
FLAIL: Flame Mace 4000
GUN: Mythril Gun 15000
BOOK: Bestiary 6000
POLE: Iron Fan 4000
CLOTH: Damask Cloth 7000
SHIELD: Aegis Shield 10000
HELM: Diamond Helm 6000
HAT: Celebrant's Miter 6000
ARMOR: Diamond Armor 6000
CLOTHES: Jujitsu Gi 4000
ROBE: Chameleon Robe 5000
ACCESSORY: Germinas Boots 5000
ACCESSORY: Jade Armlet 10000
ACCESSORY: Elven Cloak 8000
STAR: Fuma Shuriken 300
--#12: CHAPTER III - AFTER BATTLES AT ORBONNE MONASTERY--
ITEM TYPE ITEM PRICE
KNIFE: Orichalcum Dirk 4000
NINJA BLADE: Kodachi 7000
SWORD: Diamond Sword 8000
ROD: Wizard's Rod 8000
STAFF: Golden Staff 7000
CROSSBOW: Hunting Bow 8000
BOW: Windslash Bow 8000
INSTRUMENT: Bloodstring Harp 10000
BOOK: Papyrus Codex 10000
POLE: Gokuu Pole 7500
POLEARM: Partisan 7000
BAG: Pantherskin Bag 52000
SHIELD: Diamond Shield 12000
HAT: Black Cowl 7000
CLOTHES: Power Garb 7000
ROBE: White Robe 9000
ACCESSORY: Magick Ring 10000
ACCESSORY: Japa Mala 15000
ITEM: Hi-Ether 600
--#13: CHAPTER III - AFTER RAPHA JOINS AS GUEST--
ITEM TYPE ITEM PRICE
KNIFE: Assassin's Dagger 5000
NINJA BLADE: Ninja Longblade 10000
SWORD: Platinum Sword 11000
KATANA: Kiyomori 10000
FLAIL: Morning Star 9000
CLOTH: Cashmere 15000
HELM: Platinum Helm 8000
HELM: Circlet 10000
HAT: Gold Hairpin 12000
ARMOR: Platinum Armor 9000
ROBE: Black Robe 13000
ACCESSORY: Hermes Shoes 7000
ACCESSORY: Bracer 50000
ACCESSORY: Vampire Cape 15000
--#14: CHAPTER IV - BEGINNING OF CHAPTER--
ITEM TYPE ITEM PRICE
NINJA BLADE: Spellbinder 16000
SWORD: Icebrand 14000
KATANA: Muramasa 15000
SHIELD: Platinum Shield 16000
ARMOR: Carabineer Mail 13000
CLOTHES: Gaia Gear 10000
ACCESSORY: Angel Ring 20000
STAR: Yagyu Darkrood 1000
--#15: CHAPTER IV - AFTER FORT BESSELAT--
ITEM TYPE ITEM PRICE
KNIFE: Air Knife 8000
SWORD: Runeblade 20000
KATANA: Kiku-ichimonji 22000
CROSSBOW: Gastrophetes 20000
POLEARM: Obelisk 10000
POLE: Eight-fluted Pole 20000
BAG: Hydrascale Bag 58000
SHIELD: Crystal Shield 21000
HELM: Crystal Helm 14000
HAT: Lambent Hat 16000
ARMOR: Crystal Mail 19000
ARMOR: Mirror Mail 18000
CLOTHES: Black Garb 12000
ROBE: Luminous Robe 30000
ACCESSORY: Red Shoes 10000
ACCESSORY: Featherweave Cloak 20000
--#16: CHAPTER IV - AFTER BATTLES AT LIMBERRY CASTLE--
ITEM TYPE ITEM PRICE
HAT: Thief's Cap 35000
%%%RARE & MISSABLE ITEM LOCATIONS%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00rare
This is a list of where you can find all the items that are Not Sold In Stores
but are otherwise available in the SINGLE-PLAYER game. Additional rare items
are available in the multiplayer mode -- I hope to add these to a future
version of the FAQ. (There may be other places to find some of these items --
please let me know if you know of any!)
I've also indicated whether or not there is a limited supply of each item.
For some rare items, there is only a limited number of them available in the
game, so if you miss the items, or if they get broken or stolen during battle,
you may not be able to find any more!
CAUTION: ALL rare items found with Treasure Hunter are better found with a low
Bravery. The higher your Bravery, the higher you'll get a crummy generic item
instead of the rare item. (The chance of getting the "bad" item is simply
equal to your Bravery.) If you pick up the bad item from a tile, note that you
can no longer get the good item there! The exception is the Materia Blade,
which you always get regardless of your Bravery.
MANY rare weapons can be caught from enemy Ninjas throwing them at you. To do
this, equip the reaction ability Sticky Fingers (Thief); when a Ninja throws
the item at you, you'll catch it and it will be added to your inventory. Rare
items are only thrown if the enemy Ninja has a very high level (90+); you can
find high-level Ninjas on the Midlight's Deep floor 9, The Interstice.
Items not listed here can be bought in shops. See the Shops List above for
when they become available. There is an unlimited supply of all shop items.
Since many rare items can be poached from monsters, stolen in random battles,
or caught with Sticky Fingers, there are actually not that many truly missable
items in the game. The items listed below are the only ones that (to my
knowledge) are actually missable:
WEAPONS: Rod of Faith, Zeus Mace, Staff of the Magi, Ras Algethi, Perseus Bow
SHIELDS: Kaiser Shield, Venetian Shield, Escutcheon (II)
HEADGEAR: Grand Helm
ARMOR: Genji Armor, Maximillian, Ninja Gear, Mirage Vest, Lordly Robe
ACCESSORIES: Invisibility Cloak, Cursed Ring, Tynar Rouge
ABILITIES: Ultima, Zodiark
---Weapons---------------------------------------------------------------------
Zwill Crossblade [knife]:
- Rare poach from Plague Horror. Plague Horrors are frequently found at
Mount Bervenia.
LIMITED SUPPLY?: No, poachable.
Sasuke's Blade [ninja blade]:
- Found using Treasure Hunter at Nelveska Temple. Sasuke's Blade is located
BEHIND the temple, in the grassy/dirt area. From the back left corner of
the map, it's one tile to the right and one tile towards the temple -- it's
a tile with height 4. (See the Nelveksa Temple battle strategy under
Subquest Battle Strategies for more specific details.) This can only be done
during the battle with Construct 7 here in the Nelveska Temple subquest, as
there are no later battles at the Temple.
- Steal from the enemy Ninja during the battle in the Disorder in the Order
subquest.
- Catch with Sticky Fingers from enemy Ninjas (see top of section).
LIMITED SUPPLY?: No, can be caught with Sticky Fingers.
Iga Blade [ninja blade]:
- Found using Treasure Hunter on Midlight's Deep floor 5, The Oubliette.
- Catch with Sticky Fingers from enemy Ninjas (see top of section).
LIMITED SUPPLY?: No, can be caught with Sticky Fingers.
Koga Blade [ninja blade]:
- Found using Treasure Hunter on Midlight's Deep floor 7, The Crossing.
- Catch with Sticky Fingers from enemy Ninjas (see above).
LIMITED SUPPLY?: No, can be caught with Sticky Fingers.
Nagnarok [sword]:
- Found using Treasure Hunter at Nelveska Temple. It's inside the temple, in
the little nook where Construct 7 starts, at the far back of the nook. (See
the Nelveksa Temple battle strategy under Subquest Battle Strategies for
more specific details.) This can only be done during the battle with
Construct 7 here in the Nelveska Temple subquest, as there are no later
battles at the Temple.
- Rare poach from Swine. Swines appear in random battles on Midlight's Deep
floor 10, Terminus. Alternately, recruit a Pig earlier in the game during
Gollund Collier Battle 2 or the story battle at Finnath Creek and wait for it
to breed a Swine.
LIMITED SUPPLY?: No, poachable.
Blood Sword [sword]:
- Steal from Gaffgarion at Story Battle 18: Golgollada Gallows.
- Steal from Gaffgarion at Story Battle 19: Lionel Castle Gate.
- Found using Treasure Hunter on Midlight's Deep floor 2, The Stair.
- Common poach from Hydra.
LIMITED SUPPLY?: No, poachable.
Materia Blade [sword]:
- Found using Treasure Hunter on the highest tile at Mount Bervenia. Unlike
other Treasure Hunter items, you ALWAYS get this one regardless of Bravery.
- Catch with Sticky Fingers from enemy ninjas (see above).
LIMITED SUPPLY?: No, can be caught with Sticky Fingers.
Defender [knight's sword]:
- Steal from enemy boss in Story Battle 36: Bervenia.
- Steal from enemy boss during the first phase of Story Battle 49: Eagrose
Castle Keep. (NOT available during the second phase of the battle.)
- Rare poach from Elder Treant. These sometimes appear on Midlight's Deep
floors 5 (The Oubliette) or 8 (The Switchback).
- Catch with Sticky Fingers from enemy ninjas (see above).
LIMITED SUPPLY?: No, poachable and can be caught with Sticky Fingers.
Save the Queen [knight's sword]:
- Meliadoul's initial equipment.
- Found using Treasure Hunter on Midlight's Deep floor 2, The Stair.
- Steal from enemy boss in story battle 54: Monastery Vaults - Fifth Level, but
this is past the point of no return to the world map.
- Catch with Sticky Fingers from enemy Ninjas (see top of section).
LIMITED SUPPLY?: No, can be caught with Sticky Fingers.
Excalibur [knight's sword]:
- Orlandeau's initial equipment.
- Found using Treasure Hunter on Midlight's Deep floor 5, The Oubliette.
- Catch with Sticky Fingers from enemy Ninjas (see top of section).
LIMITED SUPPLY?: No, can be caught with Sticky Fingers.
Ragnarok [knight's sword]:
- Found using Treasure Hunter on Midlight's Deep floor 8, The Switchback.
- Received as a Battle Trophy for completing Story Battle 57: Graveyard of
Airships, but this is past the point of no return to the world map.
- Catch with Sticky Fingers from enemy Ninjas (see top of section).
LIMITED SUPPLY?: No, can be caught with Sticky Fingers.
Chaos Blade [knight's sword]:
- Found using Treasure Hunter on Midlight's Deep floor 10, Terminus.
- Catch with Sticky Fingers from enemy Ninjas (see top of section).
LIMITED SUPPLY?: No, can be caught with Sticky Fingers.
Masamune [katana]:
- Stolen from one of the enemy Samurai during the second battle of the
Lionel's New Liege Lord subquest (Lionel Castle Oratory). It is only
available during the first phase of this battle, before you KO the boss.
- Catch with Sticky Fingers from enemy Ninjas (see top of section).
LIMITED SUPPLY?: No, can be caught with Sticky Fingers.
Chirijiraden [katana]:
- Found using Treasure Hunter on Midlight's Deep floor 10, Terminus.
- Catch with Sticky Fingers from enemy Ninjas (see top of section).
LIMITED SUPPLY?: No, can be caught with Sticky Fingers.
Dragon Rod [rod]:
- Steal from enemy boss during Story Battle 48: Dorter.
- Stolen from (or dropped in a chest by) enemy Summoner during Story Battle 50:
Mullonde Cathedral.
- Rare poach from Blue Dragon.
LIMITED SUPPLY?: No, poachable.
Rod of Faith [rod]:
- Found using Treasure Hunter on Midlight's Deep floor 4, The Catacombs.
LIMITED SUPPLY?: Yes.
Healing Staff [staff]:
- Alma's initial equipment in Chapter III; de-equip it from her before entering
Orbonne Monastery to keep it.
- Rare poach from Dryad.
- Equipped by the guest in the last battle, but you can't de-equip it and
this is past the point of no return to the world map anyway.
LIMITED SUPPLY?: No, poachable.
Zeus Mace [staff]:
- Received as a Battle Trophy for completing the second battle of the Lionel's
New Liege Lord quest (Lionel Castle Oratory). Note that you CANNOT start
this quest if Mustadio, Beowulf, or Reis is killed or departs the team and/or
if you choose not to buy the flower from Aerith when you first arrive in Sal
Ghidos.
- Found using Treasure Hunter on Midlight's Deep floor 3, The Hollow.
- Steal from enemy boss at story battle 55: Necrohol of Mullonde, but this is
past the point of no return to the world map.
LIMITED SUPPLY?: Yes.
Staff of the Magi [staff]:
- Found using Treasure Hunter on Midlight's Floor floor 7, The Crossing.
LIMITED SUPPLY?: Yes.
Scorpion Tail [flail]:
- Rare poach from Hydra.
- Catch with Sticky Fingers from enemy Ninjas (see top of section).
LIMITED SUPPLY?: No, poachable and can be caught with Sticky Fingers.
Ras Algethi [gun]:
- Balthier's initial equipment. Complete the Recruiting Balthier subquest
after visiting Zeltennia Castle in Chapter IV to get him.
LIMITED SUPPLY?: Yes.
Glacial Gun [gun]:
- Stolen from enemy boss in Story Battle 39: Beddha Sandwaste.
- Steal (or dropped in a chest by) the enemy Chemist in Gollund Colliery
subquest battle 2: Gollund Colliery Slope.
- Stolen from one of the enemy Squires during the battle in the Disorder in
the Order subquest.
- Found using Treasure Hunter on Midlight's Deep floor 1, The Crevasse.
- Stolen from (or dropped in chests by) enemy Chemists in random battles at
Mount Germinas.
LIMITED SUPPLY?: No, can always be stolen/dropped in random battles.
Blaze Gun [gun]:
- Stolen from one of the enemy Squires during the battle in the Disorder in
the Order subquest.
- Found using Treasure Hunter on Midlight's Deep floor 1, The Crevasse.
- Stolen from (or dropped in chests by) enemy Chemists in random battles at
Mount Germinas.
- Stolen from enemy Chemist in Story Battle 56: Lost Halidom, but this is past
the point of no return to the world map.
LIMITED SUPPLY?: No, can always be stolen/dropped in random battles.
Blaster [gun]:
- Found using Treasure Hunter on Midlight's Deep floor 6, The Palings.
- Stolen from (or dropped in chests by) enemy Chemists in random battles at
Mount Germinas.
- Stolen from enemy boss in Story Battle 56: Lost Halidom, but this is past
the point of no return to the world map.
LIMITED SUPPLY?: No, can always be stolen/dropped in random battles.
Stoneshooter [gun]:
- Steal from (or dropped in chests by) enemy Chemists during random battles at
Mount Germinas. You can tell if the Chemist is carrying the gun because
he/she will begin the battle turned to stone. Use a Gold Needle, Remedy, or
other ability to cure the petrification, then steal the gun. (See "The
Stoneshooter" under Various Tricks for more info.)
- Rare poach from Dark Behemoth.
LIMITED SUPPLY?: No, can be poached, and stolen/dropped in random battles.
Artemis Bow [bow]:
- Stolen from (or dropped in chest by) one of the enemy Archers in Story Battle
42: Mount Germinas.
- Stolen from (or dropped in chests by) either enemy Archer in Story Battle 43:
Lake Poescas.
- Stolen from (or dropped in chests by) enemy Archers in random battles later
in Chapter IV and in Midlight's Deep.
- Stolen from (or dropped in chests by) enemy Archers in the first battle of
the Lionel's New Liege Lord subquest, Lionel Castle Gate.
- Common poach from Behemoth King.
LIMITED SUPPLY?: No, can be poached, and stolen/dropped in random battles.
Yoichi Bow [bow]:
- Found using Treasure Hunter on Midlight's Deep floor 3, The Hollow.
- Stolen from (or dropped in chests by) by high-level enemy Archers in random
Midlight's Deep encounters.
- Stolen from (or dropped in chest by) the Archer in story battle Battle 53:
Monaster Vaults - Fourth Level, but this is past the point of no return to
the world map.
LIMITED SUPPLY?: No, can be stolen/dropped in random battles.
Perseus Bow [bow]:
- Found using Treasure Hunter on Midlight's Deep floor 8, The Switchback.
LIMITED SUPPLY?: Yes.
Faerie Harp [instrument]:
- Found using Treasure Hunter on Midlight's Deep floor 4, The Catacombs.
- Rare poach from Treant.
LIMITED SUPPLY?: No, can be poached.
Omnilex [book]:
- Rare poach from Greater Malboro. Greater Malboros are pretty uncommon, but
you can find them on Midlight's Deep floor 4, The Catacombs, or by recruiting
a weaker malboro and having it breed.
- Catch with Sticky Fingers from enemy Ninjas (see top of section).
LIMITED SUPPLY?: No, can be poached or caught with Sticky Fingers.
Holy Lance [polearm]:
- Common poach from Sekhret. Sekhret shows up pretty only much only on
Midlight's Deep floor 7, The Crossing, and is pretty rare even there! You
can also Invite or Time a Wisenkin or Minotaur and wait for it to breed a
Sekhret. [Sekhret's name may be different in the PSP version as well.]
- Catch with Sticky Fingers from enemy Ninjas (see top of section).
LIMITED SUPPLY?: No, can be poached or caught with Sticky Fingers.
Dragon Whisker [polearm]:
- Rare poach from Red Dragon.
- Catch with Sticky Fingers from enemy Ninjas (see top of section).
LIMITED SUPPLY?: No, can be poached or caught with Sticky Fingers.
Javelin (II) [polearm]:
- Found using Treasure Hunter atop the right pillar during the Nelveksa Temple.
You need to use Construct 8, Reis, or another large monster as a stepping-
stone to climb up on top of the pillar. This can only be done during the
battle with Construct 7 here in the Nelveska Temple subquest, as there are
no later battles at the Temple.
- Catch with Sticky Fingers from enemy Ninjas (see top of section).
LIMITED SUPPLY?: No, can be caught with Sticky Fingers.
Ivory Pole [pole]:
- Rare poach from Sekhret. Sekhret shows up pretty only much only on
Midlight's Deep floor 7, The Crossing, and is pretty rare even there! You
can also Invite or Time a Wisenkin or Minotaur and wait for it to breed a
Sekhret.
- Catch with Sticky Fingers from enemy Ninjas (see top of section).
LIMITED SUPPLY?: No, can be poached or caught with Sticky Fingers.
Whale Whisker [pole]:
- Rare poach from Tiamat. Tiamats are best found on the last floor of
Midlight's Deep, Terminus, in random battles after you defeat the boss there.
- Catch with Sticky Fingers from enemy Ninjas (see top of section).
LIMITED SUPPLY?: No, can be poached or caught with Sticky Fingers.
Fallingstar Bag [bag]:
- Rare poach from Wild Boar. Wild Boars NEVER appear in the wild. The only
way to find one is to use Invite or Tame to recruit a Pig or Swine during
Gollund Colliery battle 2, the story battle at Finnath Creek, or in random
battles on Midlight's Deep floor 10, Terminus. Then, move around the map and
let your pig produce eggs until one of them hatches into a Wild Boar. Good
luck :P
LIMITED SUPPLY?: No, can be poached.
Wyrmweave Silk [cloth]:
- Common poach from Tiamat. Tiamats are best found on the last floor of
Midlight's Deep, Terminus, in random battles after you defeat the boss there.
LIMITED SUPPLY?: No, can be poached.
---Shields---------------------------------------------------------------------
Kaiser Shield:
- Steal from one of the enemy Knights during the battle in the Disorder in the
Order subquest.
- Found using Treasure Hunter on Midlight's Deep floor 4, The Catacombs.
LIMITED SUPPLY?: Yes.
Venetian Shield:
- Steal from one of the enemy Knights during the battle in the Disorder in the
Order subquest.
- Found using Treasure Hunter on Midlight's Deep floor 9, The Interstice.
LIMITED SUPPLY?: Yes.
Escutcheon (II):
- Found using Treasure Hunter atop the right pillar during the Nelveksa Temple.
You need to use Construct 8, Reis, or another large monster as a stepping-
stone to climb up on top of the pillar. You must get it during the battle
with Construct 7 here in the Nelveska Temple subquest, as there are no later
battles at the Temple. This is the ONLY place to find this shield in the
game!
LIMITED SUPPLY?: Yes.
---Headgear--------------------------------------------------------------------
Grand Helm [helm]:
- Found using Treasure Hunter on Midlight's Deep floor 9, The Interstice.
LIMITED SUPPLY?: Yes.
Cachusha [hair adornment]:
- Steal from Celia in Story Battle 34: Riovanes Castle Roof.
- Steal from the enemy Mystic on the boss's right in the second battle of the
Lionel's New Liege Lord subquest, Lionel Castle Oratory. (Only available
during the first phase of this battle, before you KO the boss.)
- Rare poach from Pig. You can find Pigs in the story battle at Finnath Creek,
in the second battle of the Gollund Colliery subquest, or in random battles
on Midlight's Deep floor 10, Terminus.
LIMITED SUPPLY?: No, can be poached.
Barette [hair adornment]:
- Alma's initial equipment in Chapter III; de-equip it from her before entering
Orbonne Monastery to keep it.
- Steal from Lettie in Story Battle 34: Riovanes Castle Roof.
- Steal from the enemy Mystic on the boss's left in the second battle of the
Lionel's New Liege Lord subquest, Lionel Castle Oratory. (Only available
during the first phase of this battle, before you KO the boss.)
- Common poach from Red Chocobo.
LIMITED SUPPLY?: No, can be poached.
Ribbon [hair adornment]:
- Common poach from Wild Boar. Wild Boars NEVER appear in the wild. The only
way to find one is to use Invite or Tame to recruit a Pig or Swine during
Gollund Colliery battle 2, the story battle at Finnath Creek, or in random
battles on Midlight's Deep floor 10, Terminus. Then, move around the map and
let your pig produce eggs until one of them hatches into a Wild Boar. Good
luck :P
- Equipped by the guest in the last battle, but you can't de-equip it and
this is past the point of no return to the world map anyway.
LIMITED SUPPLY?: No, can be poached.
---Armor-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Genji Armor [armor]:
- Received as a Battle Trophy from completing the first battle of the New
Liege Lord of Lionel Castle subquest, Lionel Castle Gate. Note that you
CANNOT start this quest if Mustadio, Beowulf, or Reis is killed or departs
the team and/or if you choose not to buy the flower from Aerith when you
first arrive in Sal Ghidos ... and, so, you would not be able to get the
armor in the single-player mode.
LIMITED SUPPLY?: Yes.
Maximillian [armor]:
- Found using Treasure Hunter on Midlight's Deep floor 9, The Interstice.
LIMITED SUPPLY?: Yes.
Ninja Gear [clothes]:
- Steal from one of the enemy Monks during the battle in the Disorder in the
Order subquest.
- Found using Treasure Hunter on Midlight's Deep floor 6, The Palings.
LIMITED SUPPLY?: Yes.
Mirage Vest [clothes]:
- Balthier's initial equipment. Complete the Recruiting Balthier subquest
after visiting Zeltennia Castle in Chapter IV to get him.
LIMITED SUPPLY?: Yes.
Rubber Suit [clothes]:
- Rare poach from Greater Hydra. You can find Greater Hydras on the latter
floors of Midlight's Deep.
LIMITED SUPPLY?: No, can be poached.
Lordly Robe [robe]:
- Found using Treasure Hunter on Midlight's Deep floor 6, The Switchback.
LIMITED SUPPLY?: Yes.
---Accessories-----------------------------------------------------------------
Invisibility Cloak [cloak]:
- Found using Treasure Hunter atop Mount Germinas, either in the initial story
battle there or in a subsequent random battle. See "The Invisibility Cloak"
under Various Tricks for its exact location.
LIMITED SUPPLY?: Yes.
Cursed Ring [ring]:
- Found using Treasure Hunter on Midlight's Deep floor 6, The Switchback.
LIMITED SUPPLY?: Yes.
Chantage [perfume]:
- Steal from enemy boss during Story Battle 36: Bervenia.
- Steal from the enemy Mystic on the boss's left in the second battle of the
Lionel's New Liege Lord subquest, Lionel Castle Oratory. (Only available
during the first phase of this battle, before you KO the boss.)
- Common poach from Swine. Swines appear in random battles on Midlight's Deep
floor 10, Terminus. Alternately, recruit a Pig earlier in the game during
Gollund Collier Battle 2 or the story battle at Finnath Creek and wait for it
to breed a Swine.
LIMITED SUPPLY?: No, can be poached.
Cherche [perfume]:
- Rare poach from Behemoth King.
LIMITED SUPPLY?: No, can be poached.
Sortile'ge [perfume]:
- Received from Beowulf for completing the Lionel's New Liege Lord subquest.
- Steal from the enemy Mystic on the boss's right in the second battle of the
Lionel's New Liege Lord subquest, Lionel Castle Oratory. (Only available
during the first phase of this battle, before you KO the boss.)
- Common poach from Red Dragon.
LIMITED SUPPLY?: No, can be poached.
Septie`me [perfume]:
- Common poach from Greater Hydra. Greater Hydras can be found on the lower
levels of Midlight's Deep.
LIMITED SUPPLY?: No, can be poached.
Tynar Rouge [lip rouge]:
- Complete the Agrias's Birthday quest in Chapter IV. You must keep Mustadio,
Agrias, Alicia, and Lavian alive until Chapter IV to do this quest. See the
Agrias's Birthday section under Walkthrough - Subquests for complete details
on how to complete this event.
LIMITED SUPPLY?: Yes.
---Items-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Elixir [item]:
- Received as a Battle Trophy for completing Story Battle 52: Mullonde
Cathedral Sanctuary.
- Received using Treasure Hunter at Nelveska Temple, as the "bad" item in place
of the Nagnarok and Sasuke's Blade (i.e., if your Bravery is high).
- 14 found using Treasure Hunter at many locations in Midlight's Deep.
- Common poach from Greater Malboro. Greater Malboros are pretty uncommon, but
you can find them on Midlight's Deep floor 4, The Catacombs, or by recruiting
a weaker malboro and having it breed.
LIMITED SUPPLY?: No, poachable.
---Abilities-------------------------------------------------------------------
Ultima [Game Hunter/Squire (Ramza)]:
- Learned by having Celia or Lettie cast on Luso during Story Battle 34:
Riovanes Castle Roof; Luso must be in the Game Hunter job.
- Learned by having Celia or Lettie cast on Ramza or Luso during Story Battles
44: Limberry Castle Gate and/or 45: Limberry Castle Keep. The targeted
character must be in the Game Hunter (Luso) or Squire (Ramza) job. See the
"Learning Ultima" section under Various Tricks for more information.
- Once Ramza or Luso has learned it, you can teach it to the other by casting
it on him when the target is in the Game Hunter (Luso) or Squire (Ramza) job.
MISSABLE?: Yes (in single-player mode), if no one has learned it by the time
you finish Story Battle 45.
Zodiark [Summoner]:
- Learned by having Elidibus cast it on a Summoner during the initial battle on
the tenth floor of Midlight's Deep (Terminus), if the Summoner survives.
Each time this happens, you have a high (but not 100%) chance of learning the
spell; you may need to have Elidibus cast it on you more than once if you
don't learn it the first time. Use Mana Shield to survive the spell, or see
the battle strategy for this battle for additional tips.
- Can be taught to other characters by first casting on an enemy Summoner, then
having the enemy Summoner cast it at the character whom you want to learn the
spell. Again, the target must be a Summoner when hit by the spell.
MISSABLE?: Yes (in single-player mode), if you don't learn it during the battle
with Elidibus.
%%%IVALICIAN CALENDAR%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00calendar
Aries 30 days [Mar. 21 to Apr. 19] Dry month
Taurus 31 days [Apr. 20 to May 20] Dry month
Gemini 32 days [May 21 to June 21] Wet month
Cancer 31 days [June 22 to July 22] Wet month
Leo 31 days [July 23 to Aug. 22] Dry month
Virgo 31 days [Aug. 23 to Sep. 22] Dry month
Libra 31 days [Sep. 23 to Oct. 23] Dry month
Scorpio 30 days [Oct. 24 to Nov. 22] Dry month
Sagittarius 30 days [Nov. 23 to Dec. 22] Wet month
Capricorn 28 days [Dec. 23 to Jan. 19] Wet month
Aquarius 30 days [Jan. 20 to Feb. 18] Wet month
Pisces 30 days [Feb. 19 to Mar. 20] Dry month
Thunderstorms are more common during wet months than dry months.
%%%ZODIAC COMPATIBILITY%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00zodiac
Ar T G Cn Le V Li Sc Sa Cp Aq P
Aries X O ? O X
Taurus X O ? O X
Gemini X O ? O X
Cancer X X O ? O
Leo O X X O ?
Virgo O X X O ?
Libra ? O X X O
Scorpion ? O X X O
Sagitarius O ? O X X
Capricorn X O ? O X
Aquarius X O ? O X
Pisces X O ? O X
O: Good X: Bad
?: Worst (same sex), Best (opposite sex)
Monsters are considered to have the same sex as other monsters, but to differ
in sex from both male & female humans.
%%%STATUS CHANGES%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00status
APPEARANCE EFFECT
Charging "C" Charging up spell; receive more damage from atks
Performing Sing / dance Charging up song or dance
Defending Guarded pose Lowers damage received
Float Floats in air Can fly
Reraise Angel icon Cast Raise when killed
Invisible Transparent Can't be attacked until you Act
Regen Glows blue HP up each turn
Protect Triangle symbol Lowers phys. damage received
Shell Square symbol Lowers magick damage received
Haste Fast animation Speed up
Sleep "ZZZ" Can't do anything
Poison Glows green, HP down each turn
skull icon
Blind Sunglasses icon Low hit %
Oil Turns black, oil Raises damage received from fire attacks
drop icon
Stone Turns gray Can't do anything or take damage
Silence "..." Can't use magic
Toad Become a toad Can't use any abilities except Attack or
Toad spell. Stats down.
Slow Slow animation Speed down
Stop No animation Can't do anything
Immobilize Gold arrow Can't "Move"
Disable Palm of a hand Can't "Act"
Doom Countdown Die when countdown expired
Vampire Bat icon Undead, act confused
Undead Purplish color Healing spells damage you instead
Chicken Become chicken Character flees from enemies
Charm Heart Fight on enemy team
Traitor none Join enemy's side
Critical Kneeling None; just indicates that you're low on HP.
(Some reaction abilities trigger only when
Critical.)
KO Lying down Character dies after counter gone
Berserk Gold star Attack power up; character cannot be controlled
Atheist Ankh down sign Low Faith level
Faith Ankh up sign High Faith level
Reflect none Spells bounce off you
Confuse Weird animation Acts randomly
%%%GEOMANCY CHART%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00geo
Sinkhole: Soil, Wasteland, Road
Torrent: Canal, River, Lake, Ocean, Waterfall
Tanglevine: Grassland, Underbrush, Vines
Contortion: Gravel, Flagstone, Stone Wall, Earthen Wall, Gravestone
Tremor: Stone Outcropping, Basalt
Wind Slash: Book, Tree, Brick, Bridge, Furnishings, Iron, Moss, Coffin
Will-o'-the-Wisp: Wooden Floor, Carpet, Coffer, Stairs, Wooden Deck
Quicksand: Marsh, Swamp, Poisonous Fen
Sandstorm: Sand, Stalactite, Salt Flat
Snowstorm: Snow, Ice
Wind Blast: Roof, Chimney
Magma Surge: Lava, Machinery
%%%PRIME NUMBERS%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00prime
2 3 5 7 11 13 17
19 23 29 31 37 41 43
47 53 59 61 67 71 73
79 83 89 97
%%%RANDOM BATTLES%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00rb
For now, I'm just listing the categories of monsters that appear in each
location; I'll update this with more details soon.
Mandalia Plain: Chocobo, Goblin, Panther
The Siedge Weald: Goblin, Bomb, Skeleton, Minotaur
Zeklaus Desert: Bomb, Avis, Minotaur, Skeleton
Lenalian Plataeu: Panther
Fovoham Windflats: Mindflayer, Avis, Minotaur, Goblin
Araguay Woods: Ghost, Skeleton, Dryad, Panther, Aevis, Malboro, Goblin
Zeirchele Falls: Mindflayer, Panther, Chocobo, Skeleton, Ahriman, Minotaur
Balias Tor: Chocobo, Bomb, Minotaur, Panther, Aevis
Tchigolith Fenlands: Panther, Ghost, Ahriman, Minotaur, Skeleton, Malboro, Bomb
Balias Swale: Chocobo, Goblin, Mindflayer, Panther
Grogh Heights: Chocobo, Bomb, Ahriman, Dragon
The Yuguewood: Ghost, Dryad, Panther
Mount Bervenia: Ahriman, Chocobo, Ghost, Behemoth, Bomb
Dugeura Pass: Chocobo, Panther, Avis, Minotaur, Behemoth
Finnath Creek: Chocobo, Mindflayer, Dragon
Beddha Sandwaste: Bomb, Panther, Skeleton, Aevis, Ahriman, Behemoth, Dragon
Mount Germinas: Chocobo, Panther, Minotaur, Aevis, Dragon
Lake Poescas: Bomb, Ghost, Skeleton, Behemoth
Dorvauldar Marsh: Goblin, Mindflayer, Dragon, Skeleton, Minotaur, Malboro
%%%VARIOUS TRICKS%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00tricks
PAUSE BATTLES
If you push Triangle while the enemies are moving, the game will pause after
the current enemy stops moving. You can then check out everyone's status.
When you're done, just click on any character and choose End to resume.
BRAVERY AND FAITH
Bravery and Faith count for more than you think! A high Faith increases both
the power (and success rate) of a character magick spells, as well as the power
of enemy spells used against that character.
A high Bravery raises your attack strength and hit rate, as well as the
likelihood of using a Reaction Ability when attacked. Bravery also has another
function not explicitly documented in the game. When discovering items using
the Treasure Hunter ability, you receive one of two different possible items
based on Bravery ... in this case, having a LOW Bravery makes receiving the
"good" item more likely. For this reason, Rapha makes a great Treasure Hunter
as she starts with a very low Bravery.
However, if a character's Bravery gets extremely low or his/her Faith extremely
high, the character may threaten to leave the party. You can fix this by using
Orator or Mystic skills to change your character's Bravery/Faith back into the
acceptable range.
How are Bravery and Faith raised or lowered? Some abilities (such as the
Orator's Speechcraft, the Mystic's Mystic Arts, and Ramza's Mettle skills) will
change a character's Bravery or Faith temporarily for a battle. At the end of
the battle, a quarter of this change (rounded down) also becomes permanent.
For instance, raising your Bravery by 4 during a battle results in a 1-point
permanent increase at the end of the battle. Or, a 9-point decrease in Faith
during a battle will result in a 2-point permanent decrease. (Note that this
calculation means it's not possible to permanently raise Bravery or Faith past
97 -- you can only get a 3-point increase, which is not enough for a permanent
change!) Your choices during a couple story events will also affect Ramza's
Bravery.
SHOOT ENEMIES NEXT TO YOU
Normally, you can't shoot enemies close to you with a bow or gun, but all you
have to do is target a square in a straight line behind the enemy you want to
hit (there doesn't even have to be anybody in the square). You'll end up
hitting the enemy in front of you.
This trick can be combined with Balthier's Barrage ability (which lets him do
four weak attacks in one turn) to attack two different enemies in one turn.
This only works if the enemies are both in a line from Balthier. Target the
enemy that's further back. Of course, the initial shots will actually hit the
enemy closer to Balthier. However, once that first enemy is KOed, Balthier
will continue attacking and hit his "original" target -- the enemy in back!
This way, you can divide your damage between two targets instead of wasting a
lot of damage finishing off an enemy that was already low on HP.
CURING THE UNDEAD
As per Final Fantasy standards, undead enemies take damage when hit with Cure
spells, and the Arise spell works like an instant KO attack!
THUNDERSTORM
During a thunderstorm, lightning and ice spells do 120% normal damage and fire
spells do 80% normal damage. Movement through swamp tiles is also slowed
during a storm.
TIME OF THE SEASONS
As in Final Fantasy XII, Ivalice alternates between wet and dry seasons. Each
year has two wet seasons (Gemini/Cancer and Sagittarius/Capricon/Aquarius) and
two dry ones (Leo/Virgo/Libra/Scorpio and Pisces/Aries/Taurus). Thunderstorms
(see above) are more common during the "Wet" months than the "Dry" ones.
MONSTER EGG PREVIEW
Trying to breed a particular kind of monster? You can actually take a "sneak
peek" as to what an egg will hatch into. Open your party roster, position
the cursor over the egg in question, and move the cursor back and forth to
another party member to the left or right. When you move over the egg, the
future monster's portrait will display for a fraction of a second, and if you
can move back and forth quickly, you can get a decent glimpse of what the
monster is going to be. If it's not what you want, you can go ahead and
dismiss the egg.
CRYSTAL LOOT
When you collect a crystal from a defeated enemy human and select Acquire
Abilities, you can point the cursor to any of several abilities. Don't be
fooled! You're not making a choice here, you actually learn ALL the abilities
listed. This makes collecting crystals a great way to learn abilities quickly!
AUTO-X-POTION
The Auto-Potion reaction ability normally causes you to (sometimes) use a
Potion when attacked. However, if there aren't any Potions in your inventory,
you'll use a Hi-Potion instead, and if there aren't any Hi-Potions, you'll use
an X-Potion. Once you start getting Hi-Potions and X-Potions, then, it's
actually a great idea to throw out your weaker potions so Auto-Potion will
only use Hi-Potions or X-Potions -- you can heal yourself for a lot more HP
that way! (This trick is particularly important in the Wiegraf battle in
Chapter III.)
REVIVE THE LIVING
Annoyed by long charge times for Raise spells? Well, who says you can't start
charging the spell before the target dies? If somebody's low on life and you
know they're going to die, start charging up Raise or (preferably) Arise.
And if they fail to die for Arise, kill them and the Arise will bring them
back to full health! (why waste the spell?)
LEARNING ULTIMA
Luso's Game Hunter job and Ramza's Chapter IV Squire job both have an extra
ability that can't be learned with JP: Ultima! This ability can only be
learned by having Ramza or Luso be hit with the spell while he is in the
relevant job. In the main game, the best time to learn this ability is the
Limberry Castle Gate, where Celia and Lettie will cast the spell on you. You
can also learn it from them in the subsequent Limberry Castle Keep, and Luso
can also learn it on the roof of Riovanes Castle at the end of Chapter III.
Once you've acquired the spell, you can have Ramza and Luso cast it on the
other to learn it that way. You can even learn Ultima in the multiplayer mode
by having one of the other player's character cast it on you. (Note that only
Ramza's "Chapter IV" version can learn Ultima.) This is a great way to still
get the spell in case you miss it during the main quest.
During the final battle, Alma can also learn Ultima if Ramza or Luso casts it
on her.
THE STONESHOOTER
The Stoneshooter is an unusual weapon ... it's the strongest gun without a
"magical" effect, but it's not without some drawbacks. If you equip it, you're
turned to stone at the start of the battle! If you de-stone the character with
an item or spell, he or she can then fight normally, but the gun isn't all
that strong and doesn't have any special effects. It's not worth the hassle,
in my opinion.
Where to find the Stoneshooter? Occasionally, at Mount Germinas, you'll get
into a random battle where you'll see one of the enemy Chemists turned into
stone at the start of the battle. That's because he's equipped with the
Stoneshooter. Use a Remedy or Esuna to de-stone him and then you can steal the
Stoneshooter. (You can also get the Stoneshooter by poaching a Dark Behemoth,
although this is the "rare" poach.)
THE INVISIBILITY CLOAK
Also found at Mount Germinas is the Invisibility Cloak, an accessory that gives
a character an automatic Invisibilty at the start of every battle. The Cloak
can be found during the initial story battle, or later during a random battle.
To get the cloak, put the Treasure Hunter ability and move to the very top of
the peak. The top of the peak forms sort of an "L" shape; the tile holding the
Cloak is the one between the two "legs" of the L:
___
/ \
/ X \
--/ \--
When you land on this tile, you'll receive either an Ether or the Cloak; your
chance of getting the Cloak goes up the lower your Bravery. You only get to
pick up the item once, so if you get the Ether, you can no longer get the
Cloak.
SOUND TEST
To access a "sound test" where you can listen to all the game's music, select
New Game on the title screen and then enter your name as PolkaPolka . You'll
immediately be brought to the sound test. Just turn the game off when you're
done.
STEPPING STONES
You can use Construct 8 as a stepping stone to reach high places -- another
character can move onto his head as it were a normal panel, and move from there
to somewhere else. You can't END your move on top of Construct 8, but you can
use him for a mid-move boost. In addition, Holy Dragon Reis, malboros,
and hydras can all be used the same way... even enemy ones!
MONSTER COMPATIBILITY
When it comes to calculating Zodiac compatibility, monsters are actually
considered a third sex. All monsters are considered to be the same sex as
each other (maybe that explains why they all lay eggs), but they're all
considered to be "different sex" vs. any human.
LEVEL UPS & STAT GRINDING
The stat gains you gain at level up are partially based on your current job --
for example, being a Knight will cause you to gain more HP at level up than a
Black Mage, but vice versa for MP.
If you really want to max out your stats, find a Degenerator trap on a map, or
recruit a Mindflayer and use Beastmaster to access its Level Blast ability.
(Both of these will lower a character's experience level.) Turn into your
character into a Mystic and activate the trap/Level Blast. Since Mystics have
small stat gains per level, the level drop will only decrease your stats a
little. Now, change the character into a better job and level back up. Your
stat gains at level up will be based on the current job, so by the time you get
back to the same level, you'll have gained more than you lost. This results in
a net INCREASE in your stats, even though at you're at the SAME level! If you
really have nothing better to do with your time ;), you can keep repeating this
cycle over and over to keep raising your stats.
A convenient Degenerator trap is on Midlight's Deep floor 2, The Stair. It's
on the tile with one of the Elixirs (see the Midlight's Deep sections above for
the specific location of the tile). Of the two Elixirs, it's actually the one
that's right next to where your team starts, which makes it really handy!
BONUS GIL
The amount of bonus gil you receive at the end of the battle seems to be the
combined level of the enemies times 100.
SWORD TECHNIQUES WITHOUT A SWORD
Here's an unusual bug to beware of: Normally, you need to have a sword equipped
to use any of the "sword technique" commands possessed by many of the special
characters. However, there's a bug where enemies (or Charmed allies) can
sometimes use sword techniques even without a sword! This seems to happen if
an enemy is first put in an abnormal status condition such as Sleep that
prevents him or her from acting normally (including allies being Charmed), and
you then steal or rend that enemy's sword. In this case, the sword techniques
don't get "switched off" and the enemy will still be able to use the
techniques. Unfortunately, this only works for enemy characters, not your own
characters, so it's less a trick and more something to watch out for!
%%%ZODIAC STONE LOCATIONS%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00stones
!!!SPOILER ALERT!!!
Aries -- Get when you beat Wiegraf in Riovanes Castle.
Taurus -- In Mustadio's possession; you receive it after the battle in Goug
Machine City. Re-obtained in Riovanes Castle.
Gemini -- Received after defeating Elmdore.
Cancer -- Received after defeating Construct 7. [optional]
Libra -- T.G. Cid (Orlandeau) has it; you'll get it when he joins
Scorpio -- Received after you defeat Delacroix. Re-obtained in Riovanes
Castle.
Sagittarius -- Meliadoul has it; you'll get it when she joins.
Capricorn -- Obtained after killing Adrammelech.
Aquarius -- Given by Beowulf when he joins. [optional]
Pisces -- Received from Isilud in Riovanes Castle.
Leo -- You never get this one, Folmarv has it.
Virgo -- As above; Folmarv also has this one.
Serpentarius -- Receive after you defeat Elidibus in Midlight's Deep.
[optional]
!!!SPOILER ALERT!!!
%%%FMV MOVIE LIST%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00fmv
!!!SPOILER ALERT!!!
This is a list of the FMV cutscenes (found only in the PSP release).
#1: Title Screen
#2: New game -- Delita escapes with Ovelia captive
--Chapter I--
#3: Ramza thinks about Argath's words. Whistling with a blade of grass.
#4: Ziekden Fortress explodes; Ramza disappears in the snow.
--Chapter II--
#5: Ramza and Delita speak at Zeirchele Falls; Delita leaves Ovelia in Ramza's
care. Flashback to Tietra's demise.
#6: Ramza and Delita meet again in Warjilis Port City.
--Chapter III--
#7: At Zeltennia, Ovelia and Delita discuss their personal histories. Delita
pledges to build a new Ivalice.
#8: Luso is pursued by Behemoths across Zeklaus Desert; Ramza throws a sword
to rescue him.
--Chapter IV--
#9: Delita's reveals the Church's plans to Ramza at a church in Zeltennia.
Zalmour arrives and surrounds the church.
#10: Thieves ambush Ramza in Dorter; Balthier appears on the scene. [optional;
only seen if you complete the Recruiting Balthier subquest]
#11: Ending. Account of Alazlam discovering Orran's papers. Ramza and Alma
ride off into the sunset.
#12: End credits.
!!!SPOILER ALERT!!!
%%%FF REFERENCES%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00ffr
I haven't included FF series mainstays like the classes, summon monster gang,
Chocobos and other monsters, Cid, etc. just the references to specific games.
Final Fantasy I:
Wonders: Mirage Tower, Fortress of Trials, Matoya Cave, Shrine of Chaos
Artefacts: Rat's Tail
Final Fantasy II:
Wonders: Pandaemonium, Semitt Falls, Shrine of Chaos (Jade)
Artefacts: Minu Orb
Final Fantasy III:
Wonders: Forbidden Land Eureka, Crystal Tower, Falgabard, Tozus Village
Errands: Enterprise, Yggdrasil (World Tree), Chocobo Restaurant Gisahl
Other: Salonia (Materia), Unei (in proposition "Endless Caverns")
Final Fantasy IV:
Wonders: Tower of Babel, Castle of Trials, Chocobo Forest
Artefacts: Lugae, Calcobrena, Rat's Tail
Errands: Enterprise, Anna and Gilbert [Edward], Assault
Door ("Minimum's Melancholy")
Final Fantasy V:
Wonders: Ronkan Ruins
Artefacts: Excalipoor
Other: Almagest spell, Boco, Byblos, Apanda, Mossfungus (Mossfungus
is an enemy in the last dungeon)
Final Fantasy VI:
Wonders: Phantom Train, Floating Continent
Errands: Setzer, Blackjack
Final Fantasy VII:
Artefacts: Materia, St. Elmo's Fire [attack used by Ghost Ships]
Errands: Black-caped man ("Nightwalker"), Highwind
Multiplayer Missions: Teioh the chocobo
Other: Cloud and Aerith (duhhh.....), Adamantainmai (mentioned
in a work history, it's an enemy near Wutai)
Ogre Battle:
Other: Zodiac Stones, Zeltennia
*******************************************************************************
XI. PSONE->PSP CHANGES
*******************************************************************************
%%%GAME CHANGES%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00psone
Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions was originally released in 1997
(Japan) and 1998 (North America) as Final Fantasy Tactics on the PSone.
Here's a list of the known changes between the 2007 PSP version and the
original 1997/1998 PSone version:
* Two new crossover characters have been added as party members: Balthier, from
Final Fantasy XII, and Luso, from the forthcoming Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
2 (try saying that two times fast!).
* Additional subquests and accompanying battles have been added to Chapter IV.
In addition to the mission to recruit Balthier, there are also the new Agrias's
Birthday, Disorder in the Order, and Lionel's New Liege Lord quests.
* Two new jobs are available for all characters: Dark Knight and Onion Knight.
* Two multiplayer modes have been added. One allows you to compete against
other player's team. The other has you team up with another player to clear a
variety of special missions. Both are playable only over an "Ad Hoc" (i.e.:
local) connection -- no Internet play, sadly.
* The maximum roster size has been increased by 8 (from 16 to 24), to allow
you to add Luso and Balthier to your crew without having to kick out any of the
other story characters.
* Key story scenes are now illustrated with cel-shaded animated cutscenes and
voice acting, instead of the in-game cutscenes and CG movies of the original.
* There are a number of new story scenes and battles added to the main
storyline, including:
- Loffrey recruiting Wiegraf near the end of Chapter II.
- Delita traveling with Ovelia at Zeirchele Falls, also near the end of
Chapter II. (This scene also involves a new story battle!)
- Ramza's meeting with Luso in Chapter III and the battle to rescue him.
- As assasination attempt against Ovelia near the end of Chapter III.
(There's a new Delita battle here as well.)
- Delita demonstrating the blade-of-grass whistle to Ovelia soon after the
beginning of Chapter IV.
- A battle against Argath at Limberry Castle in Chapter IV.
- An additional battle against Cletienne in Dorter on the way back to Eagrose
in Chapter IV.
* Job prerequisites and ability JP costs have been changed--specifically, some
jobs now require the prerequisite jobs to be leveled up to a higher level, and
some abilities cost more JP to learn.
* The Speed of some abilities has also been changed. Some abilities (mostly
Summons, plus a few Time Mage abilities and the Oracle's Petrify/Induration)
now take longer to charge.
* The "Crush" abilities used by Meliadoul and Orlandeau can now still damage
enemies even if they don't have the relevant piece of equipment. This means
that these abilities can also now damage monsters, making them a lot more
useful!
* New pieces of equipment have been added. A few are obtainable in the single-
player game as Balthier's initial equipment; the rest can only be found by
completing the multiplayer missions.
* The quest to recruit Cloud is immediately after completing Fort Besselat (and
the other prerequisite subquests). In the PSone version, this quest could not
be done until substantially later--after defeating Adrammelech.
* It's no longer possible to steal any of Elmdore's equipment. Actually, this
is consistent with the original Japanese PSone release, where you couldn't
steal his equipment either--the ability to steal his gear is unique to the
North American PSone version.
* The "item duplication" trick/glitch (which allowed you to buy extra copies of
some weapons that you couldn't normally buy) has been removed from the game, as
has the glitch that allowed you to earn infinite JP via a bug in the ability-
learning menu.
* Instead of using the Gregorian Calendar (January to December), dates are now
displayed in Zodiac format (e.g. 3 Capricorn). The year also now alternates
between "Wet months" (in which storms are more likely) and "Dry months,"
similar to the cycle on Final Fantasy XII's Giza Plains.
* Victory conditions for the Bethla Garrison/Fort Besselat sluice battle in
Chapter IV have changed. In the PSone version, you had to throw a pair of
switches to finish the battle. This meant that you could hang around even
after you'd killed all the enemies to have your characters hit each other and
easily level up. In the PSP version, the battle ends as soon as you defeat all
the enemies.
* All of Rapha's skills are now learnable as soon as she joins the party. In
the PSone version, many did not appear until Chapter IV.
* In the PSone version, using a spell or special technique would occasionally
cause the character to shout out a special quote (e.g. "Life is short...Bury!
Steady Sword!"). These quotes have been removed from the PSP version.
* In the PSP version, when a summon spell is cast, the name of that summon's
special attack is displayed (e.g. Shiva casts "Glacial Shards"), as in most
Final Fantasy games. The PSone version simply displayed the name of the
summoned creature itself (e.g. "Shiva"). Similarly, each Iaido ability now has
a special name when being cast, rather than simply the name of the katana.
* In the PSone version, the game would cycle through various "attract" movies--
a trailer for the game and videos demonstrating all the jobs--if left on the
title screen for a while. These movies do not exist in the PSP version; the
title sequence just repeats over and over if the game is left running on the
title menu.
* The icons for some of the status conditions have been changed -- probably to
be more visible on a smaller screen.
* Some other visual display elements have also been changed. For example, the
party roster screen now has more characters per row (to fit the widescreen
format), the victory condition and battle clear screens are different, and the
text map on the map screen is printed in a different & bigger font.
* On the bad side of things, the game runs somewhat slower than the original
PSone version.
* Also on the bad sides, some of the sound effects (e.g. some ability effects,
and the "death screams" when characters are KOed) also sound different (and
poorer) on the PSP hardware. To be honest, I have such a tin ear for these
kinds of differences that it's hard for me to tell exactly what has and hasn't
changed, but it's been widely reported that they do sound different :)
* And, of course, the game has been retitled Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of
the Lions, given a new logo, and rebranded as part of Square Enix's new Ivalice
Alliance franchise.
In addition, the North American, European, and Australian releases boast some
further changes:
* The game has been completely retranslated, with the Engrish-y awkwardness
from the original version being replaced with a "medieval" style similar to the
English version of Final Fantasy XII. If you're familiar with the old 1998
PSone translation and want to get up to speed with the new one, check out the
name conversion guide below.
* The slowdown in the North American and European releases is not as bad as it
was in the Japanese PSP release (or so I'm told).
* The X and O button mappings are reversed from the North American PSone
release -- X now selects things in menus and O cancels, as in almost all North
American releases. (Explanation: In Japanese versions of games, using O to
select and X to cancel is actually the standard. In North America, the
reverse is true; usually X selects and O cancels. Games being localized from
Japan generally have the X and O buttons swapped -- in fact, this is a Sony-
mandated change. The original PSone translation of FF Tactics apparently
slipped through the cracks, in keeping with the general kookiness of its
localization, and ended up with the O button to confirm. The PSP localization
brings things back in life with the North American standard.)
%%%NAME CONVERSION CHART%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00names
The new English translation has changed quite a few names from the much-
maligned 1998 translation seen in the PSone version, so I've provided this
chart to help FF Tactics veterans get up to speed with the new translation.
---Game Mechanics--------------------------------------------------------------
[1998 PSone translation] [2007 PSP translation]
Brave Bravery
Propositions Errands
Treasure (from Prop.s) Artefacts
Unexplored Land Wonders of the Ancient World
Strengthen: (equipment) Boosts:
Cancel: (equipment) Immune:
Always: (equipment) Equip:
STATUS CONDITIONS
Transparent Invisible
Darkness Blind
Petrify Stone
Frog Toad
Don't Move Immobilize
Don't Act Disable
Blood Suck Vampire
Death Sentence Doom
Invitation Traitor
Innocent Atheist
---Story-----------------------------------------------------------------------
[1998 PSone translation] [2007 PSP translation]
CHARACTERS
Adramelk Adrammelech
Alazlam J.D. Arazlam Durai
Algus Sadalfas Argath Thadalfus
Alphons Draclau Alphonse Delacroix
Altima Ultima
Balbanes Beoulve Barbaneth Beoulve
Balk Fenzol Barich Fendsor
Balmafula Lanandu Valmafra Lenande
Besrodio Bunanza Besrudio Bunansa
Bestrada Larg Bestrald Larg
Beowulf Kadmus Beowulf Cadmus
Buremonda Bremondt
Cidolfas Orlandu Cidolfus Orlandeau
Delita Hyral Delita Heiral
Druksmald Goltana Druksmald Goltanna
Elidibs Elidibus
Gaff Gafgarion Goffard Gaffgarion
Gelkanis Barinten Gerrith Barrington
Golagros Levine Gragoroth Levigne
Gustav Margueriff Gustav Margriff
Hashmalum Hashmal
Izlude Tingle Isilud Tengille
Kletian Drowa Cletienne Duroi
Lede Lettie
Malak Galthana Marach Galthena
Marge Funeral Marcel Funebris
Mesdoram Elmdor Messam Elmdore
Miluda Folles Milleuda Folles
Mustadio Bunanza Mustadio Bunansa
Olan Durai Orran Durai
Omdolia Atkascha Ondoria Atkascha
Orinas Atkascha Orinus Atkascha
Professor Bordam Daravon Master Darlavon
Queklain Cuchulainn
Rad Ladd
Rafa Galthana Rapha Galthena
Reis Dular Reis Duelar
Rofel Wodring Loffrey Wodring
Rudvich Bart Ludovich Baert
Ruvelia Atkascha Louveria Atkascha
Simon Pen Rakshu Simon Penn-Lachish
Sinogue Syneugh
Teta Hyral Tietra Heiral
Velius Belias
Vicks Biggs
Vormav Tingel Folmarv Tengille
Worker 8 Construct 8
Zalbag Beoulve Zalbaag Beoulve
Zalmo Rusnada Zalmour Lucianada
TERMS
Hokuten Knights Order of the Northern Sky
Nanten Knights Order of the Southern Sky
Death Corps Corpse Brigade
Bart Company Baert Company
Temple Knights Knights Templar
Black Sheep Knights Blackram Knights
Lion's War War of the Lions
Mosfungus Mossfungus
CHAPTER TITLES
The Manipulator & the The Manipulative & the
Subservient Subservient
Somebody to Love In the Name of Love
---Places----------------------------------------------------------------------
[1998 PSone translation] [2007 PSP translation]
OVERWORLD
Ygros Castle Eagrose Castle
Sweegy Woods The Siedge Weald
Sand Rat Cellar Sand Rat's Sietch
Thieves' Fort Brigands' Den
Lenalia Plateau Lenalian Plateau
Fovoham Plains Fovoham Windflats
Fort Zeakden Ziekden Fortress
Zirekile Falls Zeirchele Falls
Fort City Zaland Castled City of Zaland
Bariaus Hill Balias Tor
Zigolis Swamp Tchigolith Fenlands
Goug Machine City Clockwork City of Goug
Warjilis Trade City Port City of Warjilis
Bariaus Valley Balias Swale
Golgorand Execution Site Golgollada Gallows
Goland Coal City Mining Town of Gollund
Lesalia Imperial Capital Royal City of Lesalia
Grog Hill Grogh Heights
Yardow Fort City Walled City of Yardrow
Yuguo Woods The Yuguewood
Doguola Pass Dugeura Pass
Bervenia Volcano Mount Bervenia
Finath River Finnath Creek
Bed Desert Beddha Sandwaste
Bethla Garrison Fort Besselat
Zarghidas Trade City Trade City of Sal Ghidos
Germinas Peak Mount Germinas
Dolbodar Swamp Dorvauldar Marsh
Murond Holy Place Mullonde
DEEP DUNGEON/MIDLIGHT'S DEEP
Deep Dungeon Midlight's Deep
NOGIAS The Crevasse
TERMINATE The Stair
DELTA The Hollow
VALKYRIES The Catacombs
MLAPAN The Oubliette
TIGER The Palings
BRIDGE The Switchback
HORROR The Interstice
END Terminus
---Jobs------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1998 PSone translation] [2007 PSP translation]
Priest White Mage
Wizard Black Mage
Mediator Orator
Oracle Mystic
Lancer Dragoon
Calculator Arithmetician
SPECIAL JOBS
Delita's Sis Commoner
Dark Knight Fell Knight
Engineer Machinist
Heaven Knight Skyseer
Hell Knight Netherseer
Holy Swordsman Sword Saint
Arc Knight Ark Knight
Temple Knight Templar
Steel Giant Automaton
Dragoner Dragonkin
ENEMY JOBS
Impure King The Impure
Holy Priest Celebrant
Warlock Gigas
Angel of Death Death Seraph
Lune Knight Rune Knight
Ghost of Fury The Wroth
Regulator Bringer of Order
---Monsters--------------------------------------------------------------------
[1998 PSone translation] [2007 PSP translation]
Gobbledeguk Gobbledygook
Cuar Coeurl
Vampire Vampire Cat
Explosion Exploder
Living Bone Skeletal Fiend
Juravis Jura Aevis
Pisco Demon Piscodaemon
Squidlarkin Squidraken
Bull Demon Wisenkin
Minitaurus Minotaur
Sacred Sekhret
Gust Ghast
Flotiball Floating Eye
Plague Plague Horror
Woodman Dryad
Taiju Elder Treant
Hyudra Hydra
Hydra Greater Hydra
Uribo Pig
Porky Swine
Apanda Reaver
Archaic Demon Archaeodaemon
---Abilities-------------------------------------------------------------------
[1998 PSone translation] [2007 PSP translation]
SQUIRE
Basic Skill Fundaments
Accumulate Focus
Dash Rush
Throw Stone Stone
Heal Salve
Monster Skill Beastmaster
Gained Jp UP JP Boost
CHEMIST
Throw Item Throw Items
Maintenance Safeguard
Equip Change Reequip
Move-Find Item Treasure Hunter
KNIGHT
Battle Skill Arts of War
* Break Rend *
Magic Break Rend MP
Mind Break Rend Magick
Weapon Guard Parry
Equip Armor Equip Heavy Armor
ARCHER
Charge+x Aim +x
Speed Save Adrenaline Rush
Arrow Guard Archer's Bane
Concentrate Concentration
MONK
Punch Art Martial Arts
Spin Fist Cyclone
Repeating Fist Pummel
Wave Fist Aurablast
Earth Slash Shockwave
Secret Fist Doom Fist
Stigma Magic Purification
HP Restore Critical: Recover HP
Hamedo First Strike
Martial Arts Brawler
Move-HP UP Lifefont
WHITE MAGE/PRIEST
White Magic White Magicks
Cure 2 Cura
Cure 3 Curaga
Cure 4 Curaja
Raise 2 Arise
Protect 2 Protectja
Shell 2 Shellja
Regenerator Regenerate
Magic DefendUP Arcane Defense
BLACK MAGE/WIZARD
Black Magic Black Magicks
Fire 2 Fira
Fire 3 Firaga
Fire 4 Firaja
Bolt Thunder
Bolt 2 Thundara
Bolt 3 Thundaga
Bolt 4 Thundaja
Ice Blizzard
Ice 2 Blizzara
Ice 3 Blizzaga
Ice 4 Blizzaja
Frog Toad
Magic AttackUP Arcane Strength
TIME MAGIC
Time Magic Time Magicks
Haste 2 Hasteja
Slow 2 Slowja
Don't Move Immobilize
Demi Gravity
Demi 2 Graviga
MP Switch Mana Shield
Short Charge Swiftness
Float [movement ability] Levitate
SUMMONER
Summon Magic Summon
Silf Sylph
Fairy Faerie
MP Restore Critical: Recover MP
Half of MP Halve MP
THIEF
Gil Taking Steal
Caution Vigilance
Gilgame Heart Gil Snapper
Catch Sticky Fingers
Secret Hunt Poach
ORATOR/MEDIATOR
Talk Skill Speechcraft
Invitation Entice
Persuade Stall
Threaten Intimidate
Solution Enlighten
Death Sentence Condemn
Negotiate Beg
Finger Guard Earplug
Train Tame
Monster Talk Beast Tongue
MYSTIC/ORACLE
Yin-Yang Magic Mystic Arts
Blind Umbra
Spell Absorb Empowerment
Life Absorb Invigoration
Pray Faith Belief
Doubt Faith Disbelief
Zombie Corruption
Silence Song Quiescence
Blind Rage Fervor
Foxbird Trepidation
Confusion Song Delirium
Dispel Magic Harmony
Paralyze Hesitation
Sleep Repose
Petrify Induration
Absorb Used MP Absorb MP
Defense UP Defense Boost
Any Weather Ignore Weather
Move-MP Up Manafont
GEOMANCER
Elemental Geomancy
Pitfall Sinkhole
Water Ball Torrent
Hell Ivy Tanglevine
Carve Model Contortion
Local Quake Tremor
Kamaitachi Wind Slash
Demon Fire Will-o'-the-Wisp
Blizzard Snowstorm
Gusty Wind Wind Blast
Lava Ball Magma Surge
Counter Flood Nature's Wrath
Attack UP Attack Boost
Any Ground Ignore Terrain
Move on Lava Lavawalking
DRAGOON/LANCER
Level Jump x Horizontal Jump x
Dragon Spirit Dragonheart
Equip Spear Equip Polearms
Ignore Height Ignore Elevation
SAMURAI
Draw Out Iaido
Asura Ashura
Koutetsu Kotetsu
Bizen Boat Osafune
Heaven's Cloud Ama-no-Murakumo
Meatbone Slash Bonecrusher
Blade Grasp Shirahadori
Two Hands Doublehand
Walk on Water Swim
NINJA
Ball Bomb
Stick Pole
Spear Polearm
Knight Sword Knight's Sword
Dictionary Book
Sunken State Vanish
Abandon Reflexes
Two Swords Dual Wield
Move in Water Waterwalking
ARITHMETICIAN/CALCULATOR
Math Skill Arithmeticks
Prime Number Prime
3 Multiple of 3
4 Multiple of 4
5 Multiple of 5
Distribute Cup of Life
Damage Split Soulbind
Gained Exp UP EXP Boost
Move-Get Exp Accrue EXP
Move-Get JP Accrue JP
BARD
Sing Bardsong
Angel Song Seraph Song
Life Song Life's Anthem
Cheer Song Rousing Melody
Battle Song Battle Chant
Magic Song Magickal Refrain
Last Song Finale
MA Save Magick Boost
Face Up Faith Boost
DANCER
Wiznaibus Mincing Minuet
Polka Polka Polka
Disillusion Heathen Frolic
Nameless Dance Forbidden Dance
Last Dance Last Waltz
A Save Fury
Brave Up Bravery Boost
SQUIRE [Ramza]
Guts Mettle
Accumulate Focus
Dash Rush
Throw Stone Stone
Heal Salve
Yell Tailwind
Wish Chant
Cheer Up Steel
Scream Shout
Equip Axe Equip Axes
Monster Skill Beastmaster
Gained Jp UP JP Boost
DARK KNIGHT / FELL KNIGHT
Dark Sword [command] Fell Sword
Night Sword Shadowblade
Dark Sword [ability] Duskblade
HOLY KNIGHT
Stasis Sword Judgment Blade
Split Punch Cleansing Strike
Crush Punch Northswain's Strike
Lightning Stab Hallowed Bolt
Holy Explosion Divine Ruination
PRINCESS & CLERIC
Holy Magic Holy Magick
Mbarrier Aegis
Deathspell 2 Dispelna
ENGINEER / MACHINIST
Snipe Aimed Shot
Leg Aim Leg Shot
Arm Aim Arm Shot
ASTROLOGIST / ASTROLOGER
Starry Heaven Astrology
Galaxy Stop Celestial Stasis
HEAVEN KNIGHT / SKYSEER
Truth Sky Mantra
Heaven's Thunder Heaven's Wrath
Asura Ashura
Diamond Sword Adamantine Blade
Hydragon Pit Maelstrom
Space Storage Celestial Void
Sky Demon Divinity
HELL KNIGHT / NETHERSEER
Un-Truth Nether Mantra
Heaven Bltback Hell's Wrath
Asura Back Nether Ashura
Dia Swrd Back Nether Blade
Dragn Pit Back Nether Maelstrom
Space Str Back Corporeal Void
Sky Demon Back Impiety
HOLY SWORDSMAN / SWORD SAINT
All Swordskill Swordplay
DIVINE KNIGHT
Mighty Sword Unyielding Blade
Shellbust Stab Crush Armor
Blastar Punch Crush Helm
Hellcry Punch Crush Weapon
Icewolf Bite Crush Accessory
ARC KNIGHT / ARK KNIGHT
Destroy Sword Blade of Ruin
* Ruin *sap
TEMPLE KNIGHT / TEMPLAR
Magic Sword Spellblade
Aspel Syphon
Innocent Doubt
Despair Dispel
Shock! Vengeance
STEEL GIANT / AUTOMATON
Work Tasks
Crush Pulverize
DRAGONER / DRAGONKIN
* Bracelet * Breath
Dragon Tame Dragon's Charm
Dragon Care Dragon's Gift
Dragon PowerUp Dragon's Might
Dragon LevelUp Dragon's Speed
SOLDIER
Braver Brave Slash
BYBLOS
Energy Energize
Shock Vengeance
Difference Manaburn
ENEMY JOB ABILITIES
Use Hand Subdual Arts
Stop Bracelet Suffocate
Teleport 2 Master Teleportation
MONSTER ABILITIES
Choco Attack Choco Beak
Choco Ball Choco Pellets
Scratch Claw
Poison Nail Venom Fang
Cat Kick Cat Scratch
Small Bomb Bomblet
Turn Punch Spin Punch
Knife Hand Chop
* Soul * Anima
Aqua Anima Water Anima
Scratch Up Talon Dive
Shine Lover Glitterlust
Shake Off Pickaxe
Tentacle Tentacles
Black Ink Ink
Odd Soundwave Dischord
Wave Around Feral Spin
Throw Spirit Ectoplasm
Grease Touch Oily Touch
Look of Fright Dread Gaze
Wing Attack Wing Buffet
Look of Devil Bewitching Gaze
Death Sentence Doom
Leaf Dance Leaf Rain
Spirit of Life Life Nymph
Protect Spirit Guardian Nymph
Clam Spirit Shell Nymph
Bad Bracelet Bad Breath
Malboro Virus Malboro Spores
Stab Up Gore
Sudden Cry Heave
Dash Charge
Ulmaguest Almagest
Triple * Tri-*
Straight Dash Reckless Charge
Pooh- Toot
---Equipment-------------------------------------------------------------------
[1998 PSone translation] [2007 PSP translation]
ITEM CATEGORIES
Ninja Sword Ninja Blade
Knight Sword Knight's Sword
Hammer Flail
Dictionary Book
Spear Polearm
Stick Pole
Ribbon Hair Adornment
Mantle Cloak
Magic Ball Bomb
WEAPONS
Zorlin Shape Zwill Straightblade
Hidden Knife Ninja Blade
Ninja Knife Kunai
Short Edge Kodachi
Ninja Edge Ninja Longblade
Spell Edge Spellbinder
Sasuke Knife Sasuke's Blade
Koga/Iga Knife Koga/Iga Blade
Nagrarock Nagnarok
Sleep Sword Sleep Blade
Koutetsu Kotetsu
Bizen Boat Osafune
Heaven's Cloud Ama-no-Murakumo
Rainbow Staff Serpent Staff
Wizard Staff Mage's Staff
Sage Staff Staff of the Magi
Faith Rod Rod of Faith
Flail Iron Flail
Flame Whip Flame Mace
Romanda Gun Romandan Pistol
Blaze Gun Glacial Gun
Glacier Gun Blaze Gun
Blast Gun Blaster
Night Killer Knightslayer
Gastrafitis Gastrophetes
Ultimus Bow Artemis Bow
Bloody Strings Bloodstring Harp
Fairy Harp Faerie Harp
Battle Dict Battle Folio
Monster Dict Bestiary
Papyrus Plate Papyrus Codex
Madelgelm Omnilex
Oberisk Obelisk
H Bag Hydrascale Bag
C Bag Croakadile Bag
P Bag Pantherskin Bag
FS Bag Fallingstar Bag
Persia Damask Cloth
Ryozan Silk Wyrmweave Silk
SHIELDS
Platina Shield Platinum Shield
Kaiser Plate Kaiser Shield
HELMS
Barbuta Barbut
Cross Helm Close Helmet
Feather Cap Plumed Hat
Triangle Hat Wizard's Hat
Twist Headband Headband
Holy Miter Celebrant's Miter
Black Hood Black Cowl
Flash Hat Lambent Hat
Thief Hat Thief's Cap
ARMOR
Platina Armor Platinum Armor
Carabini Mail Carabineer Mail
Reflect Mail Mirror Mail
Leather Outfit Leather Clothing
Leather Vest Leather Plate
Chain Vest Ringmail
Adaman Vest Adamant Vest
Judo Outfit Jujitsu Gi
Power Sleeve Power Garb
Earth Clothes Gaia Gear
Black Costume Black Garb
Wizard Outift Wizard Clothing
Secret Clothes Ninja Gear
Rubber Costume Rubber Suit
Linen Robe Hempen Robe
Silk Robe Silken Robe
Light Robe Luminous Robe
Robe of Lords Lordly Robe
ACCESSORIES
Spike Shoes Spiked Boots
Feather Boots Winged Boots
Sprint Shoes Hermes Shoes
Power Wrist Power Gauntlet
Magic Gauntlet Magepower Glove
Genji Gauntlet Genji Glove
Defense Ring Protect Ring
Magic Ring Magick Ring
N-Kai Armlet Nu Khai Armband
108 Gems Japa Mala
Defense Armlet Guardian Bracelet
Diamond Armlet Diamond Bracelet
Small Mantle Shoulder Cape
Leather Mantle Leather Cloak
Wizard Mantle Mage's Cloak
Elf Mantle Elven Cloak
Dracula Mantle Vampire Cape
Feather Mantle Featherweave Cloak
Vanish Mantle Invisibility Cloak
Salty Rage Sortile'ge
Setiemson Septie`me
ITEMS
Eye Drop Eye Drops
Echo Grass Echo Herbs
Soft Gold Needle
Magic Shuriken Fuma Shuriken
Yagyu Darkness Yagyu Darkrood
Fire Ball Flameburst Bomb
Water Ball Snowmelt Bomb
Lightning Ball Spark Bomb
---Errands---------------------------------------------------------------------
[1998 PSone translation] [2007 PSP translation]
TREASURES/ARTEFACTS
Four Gods Set Four-Deity Plate
Statue of Lylis Statuette of Lilith
Beetle Charm Scarab Charm
Zeni-Sword Coin Blade
Malice Mask Hanya Mask
Adult's Bread Goliath Bread
Yurgeivogue Lugae
M-Fiction Novel Mesa's Musings
Diary of Nanai Nanai's Histories
Wyuvle Veil of Wiyu
Book of Enavia Enavia Chronicles
Magical Gun Enchanted Pistol
M Machinegun Enchanted Machinegun
Magi-Sword Zanmato
Excalipar Excalipoor
Parasite Tree Yggdrasil Mistletoe
Longibunne Spear Lance of Longibunne
UNEXPLORED LAND/WONDERS OF THE ANCIENT WORLD
Magic Continent Floating Continent
Castle of Trials Fortress of Trials
Falgabird Falgabard
Magic Train Phantom Train
Touzas Village Tozus Village
Semite Falls Semitt Falls
*******************************************************************************
XII. CREDITS / DISCLAIMER 00cred
*******************************************************************************
This FAQ is copyright 1998 and 2007 by Fritz Fraundorf. Final Fantasy Tactics:
The War of the Lions is copyright 1997 and 2007 by Square Enix. This FAQ is
not associated with or endorsed by Square Enix or Sony.
You may freely distribute this FAQ if it is not altered in any way and I am
credited.
This FAQ is distributed by weight, not volume, and some settling of its
contents may have occured during shipping.
%%%CREDITS%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
---PSP VERSION CREDITS---------------------------------------------------------
- Aaron N. Price for the name of one of the errands in the new translation.
- ace luna for suggesting I add a note about Midlight's Deep always staying
red on the map.
- Agostino Gruppi for pointing out typos in the range for bows and crossbows.
- Albert K.G. for the late-game save files that allowed me to quickly update
a lot of the retranslated names, for some of the starting conditions for the
new subquests, and for Dark Knight stats and abilities.
- Alexander Scott for suggesting I add using cure spells on the undead to the
Various Tricks section.
- Andrew Lyfoung for the PSP version's removal of the infinite-JP trick.
- Anocruxis via the GameFAQs.com secrets page for the procedure for
recruiting Balthier.
- azymyth for info on the new Chapter IV Argath battle and some of the info.
on how your choice on Mandalia Plain in Chapter I affects your Bravery.
- BradyGames's official guide for the game for the stats on the new
multiplayer-only items, as well as one name change (Madelgelm->Omnilex).
- Brent Clevenger for when the Balthier quest becomes available in Chapter IV.
- Carlos Alexandre for pointing out some of the merits of Ramza's Squire job.
- Cecil Beoulve for the Oracle level-down stat raising trick.
- Chris Ng for confirming that buying Aerith's flower is a one-time
opportunity and for the bug where enemies use swordskills without a sword.
- Cristiano Bruzzo for some of the new JP costs for abilities.
- Darius Rodriguez for the info on how Bravery and Faith increases are
calculated after a battle.
- Darrel Wade for noting that monks can equip clothes, and correcting the
price of two of the guns.
- David Jamison for correcting the location of the Faerie Harp.
- Desmond Gaban for the correct size of the roster increase in the PSP version.
- Doug for pointing out that you can't steal a Blood Sword from Gaffgarion
until the Gallows.
- Doug Prevo for more info. on enemies using swordskills without a sword.
- Edgar Hernandez for pointing out I had the coordinates for the Excalibur
reversed in the Midlight's Deep item locations.
- Emanuel Mak for learning Ultima in the multiplayer mode.
- Felix_Omni for Dark Knight, Sky Pirate, and Game Hunter abilities.
- Flaring Bahamut for when the new Cletienne battle occurs in Chapter IV, for
when Agrias's subquest actually becomes available, and for pointing out some
typos :).
- Freaky Liar for highlighting Flails as a great weapon to throw.
- gunblade15 for using Balthier's Barrage to attack more than one enemy per
turn, for reminding me to note the difference between the Angel Ring and the
Chantage, for suggesting I make a more obvious warning about saving in
the final sequence of battles, for pointing out a typo in the Nagnarok's
stats, and for some of the stats on the multiplayer-only items.
- Gunther Kris Santos for catching a few more abilities with different JP costs
in the PSP version.
- Harvey Ng Lee for when failed errands reappear in the Tavern, and for also
pointing out the reversed Excalibur coordinates.
- Havamere for info on the Onion Knight.
- IGN.com and 1Up.com for information on some of the various changes to the PSP
release.
- James Derr for Ramza's Steel ability permanently raising Bravery by 1 point.
- Jason Wood for which quests do and don't require Alicia and Lavian, and that
you only need to protect Beowulf during the *first* Lionel Castle battle.
- John Hoffman for the new names for the Deep Dungeon/Midlight's Deep floors,
and the rumor necessary to start the Beowulf Subquest.
- Jonathan Tabish for some of the information on the sound effect changes in
the PSP version.
- Johnny World for the new name of the Zorlin Shape (Zwill Straightblade).
- Joseph Welke for correcting the job prerequisities for Dragoon.
- kami_amaya via the GameFAQs.com secrets page for the sound test.
- Leonardo Vaz for Luso learning Ultima, for being able to catch Scorpion
Tails with Sticky Fingers, and for the new names of the Great(er) Malboro
and Malboro Virus (now Malboro Spores).
- Leonardo Vidal for some more requirements on the Tynar Rouge event.
- Logicmanhero for Dark Knight, Balthier, and Luso abilities.
- Luze for Reflexes mechanics and the Featherweave Cloak/Reflex combo.
- Manny for suggesting I add a note about the character departures due to low
Bravery/high Faith.
- Mauro Schiavo and Benedict Icton for bringing the clear-game save problem to
my attention.
- Muhammad Iqbal for the FF VII reference in one of the multiplayer missions.
- Mytherial J for the changes to Meliadoul's abilities in the PSP version
(they now work on unequipped enemies and monsters!)
- Not Dice for pointing out that the FAQ about stealing the Genji equipment was
a little confusing.
- Olivier for pointing out when Cloud becomes available in the PSP version, and
for being one of several readers to point out that Beowulf is available from
the start of Chapter IV.
- Pat Polk for correcting when the Tynar Rouge quest becomes available, for
quite a few of the new PSP names, for correcting a few item locations in
Midlight's Deep, for the Mana Shield + Manafont combo, for the Infinite
Revival party strategy, for some of the mechanics of Balthier's Barrage
ability, and for pointing out a few other typos and errors.
- Reninzo for catching another point where I'd still said Reis couldn't use any
equipment.
- RevenantThings and LDKAngel via the GameFAQs.com FF T secrets page for the
PSP version job prerequisities.
- Rob Mako for the procedure for recruiting Luso.
- Romuald Brunet for suggesting Teleport at the Lionel Castle Gate battle.
- Sane Valios for info on the inability to steal from Elmdore in the PSP
version.
- Seth X.H. for the correct prerequisites for the Nelveska Temple battle.
- Shaun Tang for pointing out the Chemist with the Glacial Gun in the colliery
may have Maintenance, for suggesting Inviting the Pig in the colliery, for
pointing out that Beowulf is available at the beginning of Chapter IV, for
the Disable tactic on the Riovanes Castle Roof, and confirming that Luso can
learn Ultima in Chapter III.
- Tom Dougall for pointing out that my Learning Ultima instructions were a
little TOO opaque.
- Tony Lawrence for using Balthier's Barrage with Poach.
- Ty'ere Mosley for pointing out that Zodiark isn't learned 100% of the time
when you're hit with the spell; it's random.
- UnshakableWill for recommending Break or other petrification/instant KO
attacks as a strategy for the Finnath Creek battle.
- Warren for suggesting using Magick Break against Elidibus and for pointing
out that Masamune Iaido is somewhat limited in usefulness since Masamunes are
so rare :P
- winddraco for confirming that the Tynar Rouge event never expires even if you
miss it on 1 Cancer the first time, for filling in the stats on the Ribbon,
for the mechanics of Balthier's Plunder and the Dark Knight abilities, for
when Onion Knights get more powerful, and for pointing out a couple typos.
- XmushXroomX via the GameFAQs.com secrets page for "previewing" monster eggs.
---PSONE VERSION CREDITS-------------------------------------------------------
- Alex Jennings (ajenning@isd.net) for one FF reference.
- Andrew Schoonmaker (neon@eskimo.com) for general corrections, the Bonus Gil
info, and the Shock trick on the final battle.
- Ben Ford (bhford@ibm.net) for improving the Shoot Enemies Close to You Trick.
- Billy Sauls (doomsday@citynet.net) for tips on the "Roof of Doom" (Riovanes
Castle Roof).
- C.J. Showers (CaptainAndy98@yahoo.com) for info on the Bloody Strings
draining HP.
- cobblerob@softhome.net for the suggestion to use Teleport to light up the
Deep Dungeon.
- Dan Polcari (magus@cyberverse.com) for the Chaos Blade's stats, the Stop
Galaxy quote, and the Deep Dungeon / Vietnam War connection.
- David Artman (tzombie@netrox.net) for correcting which option to choose on
the battle to save Mustadio.
- D. B. Brown (dbrown1@stny.lrun.com) for suggestions on the Knight job.
- H. Clower (SeigfriedH@hotmail.com) for tips on the Riovanes Castle roof,
dismissal quotes, a lot of thoughts on various jobs, and correcting my
mistake on Fire/Ice/Bolt 4.
- Henry LaPierre (freeza@ix.netcom.com) for writing the Alundra FAQ. This has
nothing to do with FF Tactics, but I never would have gotten through that
game without it.
- Jacob Carson (Zebra-38@worldnet.att.net) for most of the rare poaching items.
- James Yoon (daedelon1@hotmail.com) for some JP costs.
- Jason Narad (rdnarad@aiusa.com) for where to get the Escutcheon II and
Javelin II.
- Jason Wong (pchwong@netcom.ca) for stats on the Zorlin Shape and Scorpion
Tail.
- Jeff Smith (snsi@win.bright.net) for the suggest to Rend Weapon Gaffgarion.
- Jeremy Frey for some Draw Out quotes.
- jerid23@aol.com for the poaching list, as well as the stats on the other
perfumes.
- jjukil@aol.com for tips for the Riovanes Castle Roof, the Wild Boar
abilities, and the effect of Malboro Gem.
- joas@nbnet.nb.ca for some spell quotes and Riovanes Castle roof tips.
- John LaRusic (johnlr@telusplanet.net) for making the excellent HTML version
of the FAQ.
- Joshua Kodroff (jjk209@psu.edu) for the suggestion to use Phoenix Down on the
undead.
- Justin Kudo-Pfeiffer's (endymion@linex.com) Deep Dungeon Guide for a lot of
background info on the Deep Dungeon and the location of the Kaiser Plate.
- John Jung (locke@wam.umd.edu) for the effect of the Wild Boar's Please Eat
ability.
- Justin McKennon (xhacker_m998@hotmail.com) for spell quotes, character
quotes, the item stats I was missing, and the strategy for the Bethla
Garrison north gate.
- Ken Bernardo (DBnoise@aol.com) for noting that you need Mustadio to do the
Cloud subquest.
- Ladotheus (frivest@ibm.net) for the Monk / Dual Wield suggestion.
- Marcin Szymanski for the Mincing Minuet / Vanish strategy (from PSM Online).
- Masumo's Final Fantasy Tactics page (http://members.tripod.com/~masumo) for
some info on some of the poaching items, and stats on the Rubber Costume.
- Matt32 (teletech1@mindspring.com) for reminding me to add Golagros's name to
the walkthrough, and for the dismissal quotes I was missing
- Matthew Weng (agent99x@bmw.autobahn.org) for tips on stealing the Genji gear.
- Matt Hobbs (yelseyking@aol.com) for the Commonly Found part of the poaching
list, a lot of the poached item stats, the JP costs for the abilities I was
missing, propisition info, dismissal quotes, where to get the Sasuke Knife
and Nagrarock, and for revamping the ENTIRE spell quotes list.
- Mike Stucke (mastucke@concentric.net) for explaining the meaning of the Deep
Dungeon floor names.
- neelixbeta@aol.com for the Bard / Dancer JP trick and using Don't Move with
call spells.
- Not Me (nineteenounces@hotmail.com) for the explanation of how Jump and
axe/mace weapons work.
- oblivion@pegasus.rutgers.edu for being the first to point out that there
really ARE items on level 10, and for the "Holy Justice" team.
- Patrick Chalnik (pat@fur.com) for the stats on the second Escutcheon.
- Paul Nathans (elyzhutch@aol.com) for poaching info and pointing out the Wild
Boar monster.
- PlayStation Gamer (http://www.sol.no/games/psgamer) for the instructions on
how to get Cloud.
- PSM magazine for the location of the Vanish Mantle.
- PSM Online (http://www.psmonline.com) for the "buy unpurchasable items"
trick, and many of the ability strategies.
- Rori Bryant-Raible (CaitSith88@aol.com) for numerous tips and advice, plus
the weather effects.
- rpgskills@aol.com for the monster abilities I was missing, and some poaching
info.
- Shane Lile (ShaneLile@mindless.com) for mistranslations info.
- shinra2@yahoo.com for some poached items.
- t.g.cid@mindless.com for general info, stealing a Defender and Chantage from
Meliadoul, and the unhittable ninja.
- The Falcon (Falcon@kktv.com) for how JP and gil is determined on errands.
- The Mighty Octopus (tmo42@usaor.net) for one FF reference and the Brave/Faith
permanent change info.
- Tony Barath (serpent@wizardsinc.net) for where to find Dark Behemoths.
- Zachary Piper (zpiper@student.umass.edu) for strategies for Golgorand
Execution Site.
- And Square, for making one of my favorite strategy RPGs.